Four Into Ten Does Go Part One
by Mardy Lass
Summary: Part 1. Ten gets fish'n'chips and it all kicks off. But what does Martha know before he does? What is the strange machine? Why Glasgow? What have the sisters got to do with it? Part two listed separately. Rated T for VERY STRONG LANGUAGE
1. Chapter 1

X 01

_**Author's note:**_

This is my last Doctor Who story. It's time I got back to work and stopped day-dreaming!

My thanks to everyone who's read my stuff and left reviews. I love reviews!

This has been split into two parts, as it turned out to be so unfathomably long.

Sadly, I neither own Take That or Deacon Blue, nor their lyrics.

So for the last time: this is me, finishing off the Author's Note.

Please enjoy _**'Four Into Ten Does Go: Part One'**_.

* * *

Fergus turned his hand slowly, watching the tweezers and the tiny chip firmly grasped in them move under the microscope. He sniffed to himself, shook his head slightly, and reached out with his left hand for the tiny-headed technical screwdriver on the bench. 

He picked it up without looking, staring at the tiny chip and bringing the head of the tool into range.

The door behind him swung open quickly, banging into the wall behind.

Fergus jumped and dropped the tool, almost dropping the tweezers too.

"Afternoon, Mister Campbell!" the Doctor cried with gusto, walking into his room otherwise silently.

"Skipper, yi nearly gave me a heart attack," he breathed, putting the tweezers down carefully and turning to watch the Time Lord.

He was simply ambling round the large room, hands in his brown trouser pockets, eyes running over everything with a voracious desperation Fergus had come to recognise as a sign of impending trouble.

"Doing something important?" the Doctor asked gamely, wandering over and looking over his shoulder at the work surface. "Oh," he said, crest-fallen.

"Something Ah could help yi with?" Fergus asked politely, turning and looking up at him.

The Doctor turned away, sniffing and pulling a face that a small child deprived of ice-cream might use by accident.

"Well…" he dithered, turning in circles slowly, his feet crossing over themselves to keep him moving round in a kind of strange, almost-falling manoeuvre that was inherently graceful at the same time. "Have you… ah… Have you thought of somewhere to go?"

"No," Fergus said with great satisfaction. "Yi lost, mate. Accept it. Yir just gonnae huv tae wait fae _me_ tae decide where wir going this time."

The Doctor came to a stop.

"I do know you cheated," he said lightly.

"Ah did_not_ cheat, fae thi hundredth time!" he cried, annoyed. "Noe stop pulling that face like a wet weekend and find something tae be getting on with!"

The Doctor hesitated, then walked over again slowly to see the small parts littering the desk.

"I could help you with –"

"No!" Fergus said loudly. "Really, Skipper, Ah'm ok here. Go and make some tea, or something."

"I've had twelve cups of tea in four hours," he said, then looked at Fergus. "I know! A Celtic match!" he said suddenly. "Pick a match – any match. Probably one where they beat Rangers, knowing you. You know I can get any tickets you want – right in the Jock Stein stand! What do you say?" he grinned, excited.

Fergus opened his mouth, then caught himself.

"Ah said no!" he said firmly. "Yir no supposed tae be picking thi place this time, Skipper! Yi lost tae me fair and square, so stop greetin' aboot it and wait."

"You're no fun, you are," the Doctor sighed, turning and walking slowly toward the door. Fergus watched him go, taking in the rounded shoulders of defeat, the heavy tread, the air of absolute and complete boredom.

"Skipper," he said quickly. The Doctor stopped and turned slowly, raising his eyebrows at him. "Get some chips in while Ah think," he added cheekily.

"I don't know _why_ I put up with you humans, I really don't," he breathed to himself, but turned and walked out cheerfully.

Fergus grinned and turned back to his desk.

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The Doctor slammed the TARDIS down with perhaps a little more shaking than necessary, but no Fergus emerged to admonish him, so he pouted for a second before crossing to his long brown coat. He pulled it off the support beam and fished around in the pocket, drawing out an EPS card. He thought for a moment, then put it back and searched again.

He pulled out a Delta card and stuffed it in his pocket along with his key.

"Oi! Tourette's Boy! If they haven't got those disgusting fish things, do you want saveloy?" he called.

"Aye!" came the echoed response, and he turned to the TARDIS doors. He let himself out and locked the door before looking around.

He found a perfectly normal street, no-one actually around to pay any attention, and he put his hands in his pockets and started walking.

He found the tiny lane with the _olde worlde_ chip-shop exactly where it had always been, and grinned before pushing the half-glass door open. The tiny chimes over the door sounded as he walked in.

The lady behind the high metal counter smiled at him.

"Oh and here you are again, Mister Smith," she said with a friendly smile. "Same again?"

"Er… yeah, alright," he said, his eyes sliding to the pictures on the menu board. "Although…"

"Oh 'ere we go," she grinned, putting her hands on the metal surround and leaning toward him slightly. "Do we have to do this every time?"

"Well do you have anything new?" he asked with a disarming smile, and she leaned her hands off the counter again, shaking her head.

"Same again, then," she said, winking at him and turning to the large vats behind her.

The Doctor ambled over to the chairs in the window, sitting and folding his arms, whistling to himself as he looked around the room idly.

He jumped as he heard a thumping on the glass behind him. He looked up and the lady grinned at him.

"One of your lot?" she said knowingly. He got up.

"Mister Campbell," he said as the door opened, making the small chimes tinkle and fuss. "If you're not going to–"

"You're back! We've been waiting ages!" Martha Jones grinned, then paused, looking him up and down. "When did you get your suit back? Or no, don't tell me, you have _several_ spares," she teased. "Well? Did you get it?" she added expectantly.

"Martha Jones!" he cried happily, advancing on her.

"Er, yeah, hi," she breathed as picked her up and spun her round in a warm hug. He deposited her on the tiles and grinned at her maniacally.

"What are you doing here!" he beamed.

"You don't have it with you?" she said, her grin slipping.

"Have what with me?" he asked, baffled.

She stared at him, taking in his confused face. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, have you?"

"Uh…"

"But where's Br–." She stopped dead. "Oh! Right!" she gasped suddenly. "This is the chip shop!"

"Well, yes," he confirmed, confused.

"No, this is _the chip shop_," she said meaningfully. He just shook his head at her, lost. She nodded to herself, over and over, grinning suddenly. "So, ah… what are you up to these days? Where's Fergus?" she asked carefully. He took a step back warily.

"Fergus is – at home," he replied, watching her with narrowed eyes that suggested he was confused. "He's waiting for his chips, some stupid errand he's sent me on to – why are you looking at me like that?" he asked quickly, noticing her omnipotent smile.

"Nothing, nothing, it's fine, everything's fine, carry on," she said, backing away. His face screwed up in befuddlement.

"What is it?" he asked urgently.

"Nothing! Really! It's fine!" she said. "I get it! You don't yet, but you will," she said, relaxing.

"Martha Jones, what –"

"Doctor, listen," she said easily, ignoring the strange look the lady behind the counter was giving her. "Let Fergus pick. Seriously," she added, her face stern.

"Let him pick?" he asked blankly.

"Let him pick. And I'll see you again, mister," she said, unable to stop a smile at the thought. "Don't you worry about _that_."

"But… What about now?" he asked quickly.

"That's all I said – got to go!" she said quickly, as she hurried back to the door and out.

"Where are you going?" he called.

"Let him pick!" she called, waving brightly and running off.

He hurried to the door and grabbed it to stop it closing, but she was already gone. He stood, one hand on the door, watching her run down the street and out of his life.

"For the second time," he muttered.

Then he turned and let go of the door, letting it close behind him softly. The bell tinkled as he stared at the floor, thinking.

" 'Ere we go, my love," the lady said loudly, and he looked up. "Four suppers, three fish and one saveloy. That's seventeen pound ninety, please."

He walked over in a daze and handed her the Delta card. She smiled and took it, swiping it and putting the small box on the counter top.

"Number please," she said cheerfully.

He looked at her for a long moment, then shook himself and tapped in his security number.

"Do you have a newspaper?" he asked suddenly.

She looked at him, amused.

"Apart from the ones your chips are wrapped in, we've got this one," she said with a smile, handing over a much-read one.

"What's the date?" he asked quickly, taking it from her.

"Honestly love! Where have you been, on the moon?"

"A few times," he muttered, looking at the date at the top. "4th September, 2008?" he said to himself.

"Yep, all day," she said confidently.

"Right," he agreed slowly, reaching out and taking the card back, stuffing it back in his pocket before taking four small plastic bags from the counter top. "Oh. Did I ask for four?" he asked suddenly.

"Where is your head today, Mister Smith?" she teased. "Same again, you said. So that's the same as yesterday: three with fish, one with sausage." She paused as she watched him take this in. "Everything ah… Everything alright, Mister Smith?" she ventured.

"Yeah yeah, fine," he said quickly, straightening and smiling at her cheerfully. "Just forgot what day it was, that's all."

"I wish!" she grinned. "Wouldn't hurt for it to be Monday, would it?"

"I'm sure it'll come round sooner or later," he said helpfully, nodding her a goodbye as he negotiated his way out of the shop with the four bags.

-------------------------------------------------

He walked back to the TARDIS, deep in thought, until he reached the door and realised he couldn't get his key out.

"Sorry about this, old girl," he said grimly, before lifting a foot and booting at the bottom of the door slowly. "Mister Camp_bell_! Make yourself useful!" he called.

He waited and then heard the door lock scratching and turning. The door swung open.

"Hoe much did yi get then?" Fergus asked, looking him up and down.

Four white plastic bags in one hand and a one litre jug of milk in the other was keeping the Time Lord from being able to help himself. Fergus took a bag and the milk from him and retreated inside.

"Apparently, I was here yesterday and got four then, too," he said, mystified. "I don't remember being here yesterday. _Well_, their yesterday. Not my yesterday. Obviously."

"Then Ah guess we'll huv tae wait an' see," Fergus said eagerly, walking round to the galley.

"The strangest thing just happened," the Doctor said as he watched Fergus unwrap one and inspect the fish. He smiled, walking over while licking his greasy fingers, picking up a fork from the sink drainer.

"Hoe dae yi mean, 'strange'?" he asked. "Everything's strange roond here."

"Good point," he said quietly, taking the milk and turning to the cavernous 1963 Westinghouse Centre Drawer fridge in the corner of the galley. He wrenched it open and put the milk in, closing it again. He paused to straighten the '_Scooby Doo likes clean teeth too!_' magnet holding a Post-It note to the front.

Fergus walked back, stopping to hand him a fork, and then sat at the table, digging into his chips.

After a few moments he looked up to find the Doctor hadn't moved. He was still staring at Scooby Doo.

"Well?" he asked him. "Are yi gonnae eat those chips, or yi waiting fae me tae do it?"

"What? Oh. Yes," he said faintly, turning and walking to the table.

He sat and unwrapped one large newspaper bundle slowly. He found a fish in it and screwed up his face, wrapping it again and reaching for the other one. He unwrapped it and found a large battered sausage in it. He smiled and stuck his fork in a chip.

"Oh," he said suddenly, looking at Fergus.

"What? Forget the salt again?" he said, reaching for the tiny _Harrods_ shakers on the wooden galley table.

"No – it's just that… Martha Jones eats fish." He paused. "I wonder whose the other one is."

"Martha's coming here?" Fergus asked, swallowing quickly. "Ah'll huv tae clear up."

"Don't be such a girl," the Doctor grinned maliciously, tucking into his chips.


	2. Chapter 2

TWO

"Don't think yi choosing fae me, mate. Ah'm picking," Fergus said firmly.

"Yep," the Doctor said smartly. "I know."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Good," the Doctor agreed cheerfully, picking up the newspaper and greasy wrappers and rolling them into a large ball. "But… If I get this one in, you have to let me give you options."

"No!"

"Spoilsport," the Doctor grumped. He leaned back in his chair, ready to throw the lump of sodden newspaper.

"Alright," Fergus sighed. The Doctor paused.

"What?"

"Alright, yi can give me options," he said wearily. "But that doesnae mean Ah huv tae choose one of them. Ah could choose something different," he said defensively.

"Ok," he said brightly.

"And anyway, yi'll never get that in fae there," he grinned.

"Oh no?" the Doctor said with a sly smile.

He leaned back a little more in his chair, narrowing his eyes at the rubbish bin. He paused, reaching out and picking up the rubber coaster from under the salt and pepper shakers.

"Then watch _this_," he said proudly.

He tossed the rubber coaster at the swing lid on the bin. Then he bowled his right arm over his shoulder.

The wadded papers arced long and high, during which time the rubber mat had slapped at the swing lid. It whooshed open just as the newspaper landed on the flap. It dipped down and the newspaper ran off and into the bin with a quiet rustle.

"How's that!" the Doctor grinned.

"Yi dirty wee blagger!" Fergus accused, but he grinned. "Where did yi lean to play cricket?"

"On a cricket pitch," he smiled serenely, getting up and clearing the rest of the mess away. He put his hands on the two unwrapped fish suppers and paused.

"Hoe long dae yi think she'll be?" Fergus asked, noticing the way the Time Lord hesitated before casting a guilty look at the bin.

"We'll have to wait and see," he said decisively, turning and lumping everything into the bin.

"Fair enough," Fergus said. He got up and looked around slowly. "Well then, Ah'll be getting back tae work. Ah've a fair few wee things to be getting on with."

"I'll think of some options," the Doctor said with a grin. "Oh! I know!" he crowed suddenly. "How about a Jay Chow concert?" he asked quickly. "We can stop in Taipei for a bit afterwards, go shopping – or no, I know!" he interrupted himself. "Hong Kong! Never been _there_, have you? Want to see the 1997 hand-over? Or Liverpool play South China FC in the Barclays Asia Trophy? That was only… ooh, 2007? Around July, I think?"

"Skipper!" he interrupted, and the Doctor paused. He watched him, eyes sparkling with mischief, and Fergus let out a huff. "Alright then," he sighed wearily.

"Liverpool?"

"Liverpool?" he echoed, offended. "Awae and bail yi heid wi _Liverpool_!"

The Doctor grinned, but Fergus made him wait another long few moments.

"Celtic vs. Rangers," he allowed, "the Scottish League cup final, Hampden Park, 1957," and the Doctor slapped his palms together, rubbing them briskly and turning to the door.

"Hampden in the sun it is then! I _knew_ you couldn't resist!" he said smugly, disappearing from the galley.

Fergus watched him walk out, then sighed and wiped his hands over his face.

Then he let them drop and grinned.

-------------------------------------------------

Fergus opened the TARDIS door and peeked out. He pulled his head back in again and looked back at the Time Rotor, finding the Doctor on the opposite side of it.

"This doesnae look like Glasgow, Skipper," he said slowly. He poked his head back out. "Looks more like… some kind of station, likesay."

The Doctor came down the ramp, picking up his brown suit jacket and pulling on a sleeve.

"You sure?" he asked, grasping the door from the younger man and pulling it open to see. He stuck his head out, then stepped out, pulling the jacket on his other arm and buttoning it up quickly. "Hmm," he said curiously, then pushed past Fergus again, walking back into the TARDIS.

"So… are we leaving noe then?" Fergus asked, uncertain.

The Doctor had picked up his coat, hanging it over his arm as he peered at the monitor.

"Not just yet," he said slowly, pre-occupied.

"Yi know, Ah see what yir doing," Fergus said pointedly.

"Hmm? What? What am I doing?" the Doctor asked, looking up at him from across the room.

"Yir blagging this whole thing – _again_. We played fae the right to pick thi next stop. Ah won, ma oft-regenerated friend, and _you_ lost. So yi got bored, and Ah let yi make suggestions. You didnae want tae go where Ah picked, so yi changed it tae this place and noe yir pretending yi huv no idea how we–"

"Mister Campbell," he said with a definite air of amusement, "come and look at this."

Fergus sighed, then shut the door and walked back up the ramp. He watched the Doctor pull on his long brown coat, pulling the back of the collar to sit straight as he eyed the younger man.

"See that?" the Time Lord asked, gesturing to the monitor with his head. Fergus looked at it, then blinked and looked again. "What's this place called?"

"Glasgow," he said, confused. "But it's not thi real one, it's –"

"I beg to differ, Mister Campbell," he said loudly. "Looked very real to me with my feet out of the door. And what's the date?" he asked.

"1957," he said, confused. He looked at the taller man. "But hoe can we be in Glasgow in 1957?"

"Not_in_, Mister Campbell," he said, intrigued, "_on_. Look." He put a hand out and tapped something on the base of the monitor, and the images and information changed.

Fergus stared.

"Yi mean to tell me thi whole bastard planet's called 'Glasgow'?" he asked, alarmed. "Hoe can that be?"

"I have no idea," the Doctor said, then grinned. "We could go and find out, though," he said brightly. "Yes? Little walk, little spy, little Q&A, little fact-finding, little digging, little needling, little fun, then a little shop for a little hot dog, or a–"

"Alright!" Fergus interrupted quickly. The Doctor didn't appear to notice.

"You'll have to get a jacket, it's nippy out there," he said wisely, heading back for the doors.

Fergus stared at the monitor again, then watched the Time Lord bounce on down to the doors.

"Ah'll no be needing a jacket," he scoffed, walking after him, "Ah'm no a complete Jessie like someone Ah know."

"Suit yourself," the Doctor said with a wide smile. They stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around. Fergus shivered.

"Tis nippy, you wir right," he allowed. Then he looked up at the Doctor. "Wait here, then. And don't yi dare sae '_I told you so_'," he warned.

The Doctor simply raised his hand and saluted, a grim look on his face, as Fergus headed back inside the TARDIS to fetch his coat.

A moment later and he was back.

They looked left, finding a long, dark corridor stretching out. They turned to the right simultaneously, looking down the same corridor.

"Er… it's all looking a bit space-station-ish," the Doctor said hesitantly, and Fergus turned and looked at him.

"So we're no on Glasgow after all."

"Well, we could be. This could be a station on the surface," he allowed dubiously, looking slightly down at Fergus. "Maybe."

"Let's go find oot," he said grimly, walking off past the Doctor.

The Time Lord looked back at the TARDIS door, putting a hand out and testing to make sure it was locked. Then he turned and followed Fergus to walk down the corridor.

"Here, look," the Doctor said suddenly, and Fergus stopped to look back. "A window. Ah – oh."

He walked over and looked at the dirty port-hole through which the Doctor was attempting to squint.

"Let me," he said, pushing in front and lifting his sleeve, rubbing the dust from the inside of the pane. They looked out.

"Oh," the Doctor said abruptly, but Fergus couldn't take his eyes from the window.

"What?" he managed, still staring.

It was a planet, a huge blue-green ball, hanging not so far from them that they couldn't watch tiny shuttles heading to and from the surface. They appeared to be passing directly underneath their feet, and Fergus felt the Doctor's hand on his shoulder suddenly.

"This is a perimeter defence station," he said darkly. "And _that_," he said, lifting his other hand and tapping a finger against the glass of the port-hole, "is Krimmanhell," he said curiously.

"Krimmanhell?" Fergus prompted. "Sounds like a swear word."

"And so it should," the Time Lord said heavily.

Fergus looked at him. The Doctor was looking out of the window, his large eyes gazing but apparently seeing nothing.

"Imagine the largest, most convoluted, unworkable group of disorganised planets in the entire universe. Then take a handful of useful ores and minerals and scatter them about those planets, and then give them all big guns. The result is the Krimmanhellanian Dominion of Solidarity and Unity."

"Them?" Fergus asked, looking back out of the port-hole.

"Them," the Doctor nodded. "Fifteen planets clustered around what you humans call Gliese 876, all short-sighted, greedy bureaucrats, and all in need of everything that every other planet has."

"Bloody hell," Fergus nodded. "So… Can we leave noe?"

"It doesn't explain why the TARDIS didn't tell us Krimmanhell was so close to us and that other ball," he said, squinting to one side through the window, "which… I be_lieve_… is Glasgow."

"Where?" Fergus asked eagerly, looking out again, shifting round to his left to see further along to the right. He stared. "It's so… big," he said quietly.

The Doctor patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"It is. But I didn't know the Krimmanhellanian Dominion of Solidarity and Unity _had_ a Glasgow," he said thoughtfully. "Still, been wrong before," he allowed gingerly. "And it doesn't explain what _those_ are."

Fergus looked out and saw the small shuttles moving underneath them and toward the large planet filling the window.

"Aye, and it also doesnae explain what wir still doing here," he said. "You said Celtic vs. Rangers."

"I know, Mister Campbell, don't worry. But that match will still be waiting for us when we're done here," he said, still sounding slightly puzzled.

"Of course," Fergus bit out.

"They must be coming from _here_," the Doctor said quietly, then looked around behind them. "They're being taken _from_ here to the surface… But why?" he asked, letting go of Fergus's shoulder and turning away.

"Skipper!" he said quickly, following the Doctor down the corridor. "If there's all men and no birds, Ah'm coming straight back here."

"Quite right," the Doctor said, no intention of stopping.

Fergus smiled and followed more quickly.


	3. Chapter 3

THREE

"As long as we can prove our blood to the same father, we'll be fine," Kickick said confidently. She looked at her sister, but she just sighed.

"I can't believe it will be that easy," she said sadly. "Something will go wrong. We've been waiting for confirmation of our lineage for a year now, Kickick!" she pointed out.

"We'll find a way," the older sister said firmly. "We're not staying here. We have to get through the quarantine and they _will_ let us have a plot on the new world. We have proper blood and they can't deny us."

The younger sister, Bronnin, simply nodded. She didn't bother voice her doubts again.

"So… what do we do now?" she asked instead.

Kickick thought for a second. "We need to get to the Hearing Hall anyway," she said. "I know the hearings don't start till tomorrow night, but we are of the blood. They'll let us watch the meetings, if we go."

"I don't want to watch the meetings," she said wearily. "They're all the same, and anyway, there are never any nice males there. I'm tired of going all the way there, just to find the same boring, old men leering at me."

"Well you never know," Kickick said with a teasing smile, "you might find the love of your life tonight. Come on, get changed."

"If you say so," she sighed. "But if there are no men under a hundred years old, I'm coming straight back here."

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The Doctor and Fergus rounded a corner in the corridor to find a large sign propped against some dusty lift doors.

"Oot of order?" Fergus tutted. "Ah'll sae it is! We're gonnae huv tae walk all the wae doon noe, are we not?" he asked.

The Doctor looked around slowly, then spotted a window.

"Looks that way," he said mildly, walking over and looking out of the dirty pane of pseudo glass. "I think…" he began quietly, as if to himself, "we're going to have to find the shuttles and get on one. We need to be down there," he added.

"You sure?" Fergus asked, walking over and looking too. "What aboot the TARDIS? Yi leaving her here, then?"

"For the time being," he said amiably. "She'll be alright up here. We haven't even seen another living being yet."

"True," Fergus nodded, then looked around. "Er… not tae alarm yi, but Ah don't see any stairs," he said.

The Doctor turned and looked around, before his searing gaze stopped abruptly. "There," he said simply.

He walked over and pulled out his screwdriver, pointing it as what looked like an access panel in the wall. There were small popping noises and suddenly the plate slipped from the wall. The Doctor caught it and put it on the floor, bending slightly to look in the hole.

He put his hand in and felt around, then smiled as Fergus heard a click.

The wall next to them rumbled and pinged, and then two massive doors opened.

"Goods lift," the Doctor said cheerfully, removing his hand and turning to look at Fergus. "Well? Come on then."

He walked in, hands in pockets, and Fergus followed him.

The lift flew down what seemed to be many floors and stopped gently. The tiny screen above the doors showed 'shuttle reception', and the Doctor beamed.

"Easy," he said, gesturing to the opening doors with his head. Fergus walked out first. And caught his breath.

There appeared to be hundreds of aliens milling about, talking, laughing, grumbling, sharing food, newspapers, waving tickets, large plastic ID cards, all sorts.

"Where huv _they_ all came fae?" Fergus muttered.

"I don't know," the Doctor said, his eyes wide as he counted the separate species and tried to work out where they were all from. "Why don't we ask them?"

He walked off confidently, and Fergus trailed behind, still taking it all in.

"Shuttle Five Nine Four departing in five minutes," came a booming female voice. "Passengers have three minutes in which to board. Repeat, shuttle Five Nine Four departing in five minutes. Passengers have three minutes in which to board."

"Should we just get on thi shuttle first?" he asked quickly. "Who knoes when thi next one is, eh?"

"Good point," he said, looking round for a ticket booth. "It's multi-tasking time." He put his hands to his brown suit jacket, patting and searching, then pulled it open and reached into various inside pockets, muttering to himself. He gave up and put his hand in his dimensionally-exponential trouser pocket, feeling all the way down. "Ah!" he grinned, pulling his hand out and turning to Fergus. "Here, take this and get us some tickets," he said. "See if you can get the window."

"Righty-ho," Fergus said cheerfully, taking the small USB hub-like instrument in his hand and just trusting it was actually something useful.

He walked over to the ticket booth and did his best not to look stupid as he made sure of the destination and prices. The squat red female behind the counter looked surprised to find he had close to a millionaire's savings on the credit chip, but politely said nothing as she simply passed it back, along with the tickets.

"Two minutes," she said tersely. "You miss it, there's no refund."

"Fair enough. Thanks," he said, taking them quickly and looking around to find the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. "Bloody typical," he breathed.

He walked toward the boarding point anyway, still searching. He heard a familiar laugh and turned to find the Doctor already just inside the entrance, talking with two tiny, bright pink people, who appeared to find him hilarious in turn.

Fergus sighed and walked in, pushing into his arm and handing him a ticket.

"Oh, Mister Campbell, thanks for that," he said, sobering and sniffing back a laugh. "Oh, er, Mags, Tess, this is Mister Campbell," he said.

The two tiny aliens, their long, thin limbs reminding Fergus of tree branches, looked up and smiled at Fergus. At least, that's what he_hoped_ they were doing. They had row upon row of huge, sharp teeth, large blubbery red tongues hidden behind them neatly.

"Mister Campbell," the one on the left said, and it was then that Fergus realised they were identical. "You must sit with us, so that you can tell us your stories of this 'foot'–'ball'. The shuttle ride can be so boring."

"Oh, er, aye, of course," he said, trying to look friendly.

"He is perturbed," the other one said to the Doctor.

"He's also excited cos we're all from different planets," he winked, and the two aliens laughed loudly.

"Oh, Doctor, you are lovely," the alien on the left said, reaching up with a clawed hand to wipe an eye theatrically. "You must sit with me and tell me about towels."

Fergus just blinked, then shook his head and let it go.

"Well," the Doctor said, following the alien toward the main doors of the shuttle, "I know you should never go out without one…"

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"Well, _that_ was an adventure all in itself, eh?" the Doctor grinned, waving goodbye to the two pink aliens and turning to look at Fergus. He still looked stunned.

"They're so… _odd_," he said, shaking his head. "Ah huv never had a conversation like that one."

"And you probably won't again," the Doctor said happily. "Blerorites are known for their Virginia Woolf-type minds," he grinned. "Anyway, we're on the surface of Krimmanhell, would you believe. Now we have to find out why there's a quarantine in place and people without our kind of passports are not allowed to set foot on Glasgow."

"Our kind?" Fergus prompted.

"Well, psychic paper only gets you so far. Blerorites, on the other hand, get you past all kinds of security checkpoints."

"Ah'm no even gonnae ask," Fergus grinned, then looked around. "So how did yi knoe we cannae get tae Glasgow?"

"Were there tickets for sale?" the Doctor asked patiently.

"No."

"No shuttles go that way, or come back, for that matter. And Mags and Tess were helpful enough to tell me this Glasgow is a 'new world', and only special people with special reasons and 'blood' get to settle on it."

"What?" Fergus demanded, confused. "Thir vetting people that go there?"

"No, Mister Campbell, they appear to have 'found' a new planet and are being particularly circumspect about who they let live on it."

"Found?" he prompted. "What happened, they just turned roond and realise they'd never noticed a planet hanging in space next tae them before?"

"It _is_ rather curious, isn't it?" he said delightedly, rubbing his hands.

"But hoe can they just stop people from going thir?" he asked. "Are thir no pirates selling black market tickets?"

The Doctor grinned. "All these questions and more will be answered in the future. We hope."

"Should we no be ootside, looking at maps then?"

"Good plan, Mister Campbell," he said, clapping him on the arm before turning for the main doors.

They walked outside the large shuttle terminal and found themselves in the cold street, brittle winter sun lighting the city without discernible heat. The street was wide with large, bulky cruiser-type cars trundling along slowly, humming with energy.

"Their cars huv wheels?" Fergus asked himself. "Noe I've seen everything," he joked.

The Doctor was already walking down the street, and Fergus turned, shrugging into his jacket slightly as he caught him up.

They walked until they found a large touch screen street map, now sadly in disrepair. It was stuck on the display for the square they were standing in, and the surrounding area. It had a disturbingly large number of helpful stickers pointing out a single building, central of the map.

"What's that then?" Fergus asked, confused.

"It's a… The Administrative Adjunct of the Krimmanhellanian Dominion of Solidarity and Unity Special Sovereign-Included Branch of the Government Department for Naturalisation and Permissions of Residence, Travel and Joinings," he read out loudly. "Blimey! Couldn't they just call it 'immigration stroke births, deaths and marriages'?" he asked himself.

"So why's there loads of notices telling us tae go there tonight fae some fancy meeting?" Fergus said gingerly. The Doctor moved over to see what Fergus was pointing at.

"Oh yes, so it does," he said with a widening grin. "Good lad. Come on then."

"Wir no _go_ing?" Fergus asked quickly.

"Well… we could just… pop in," the Doctor allowed, raising a hand to pull on his ear innocently. "It'll be like the United Nations in there. Don't you want to see it?" he added, turning his large, begging eyes up at him.

"What? And sit through hoors of boring waffle fae old boys in smart suits?" Fergus demanded. "Ah'm telling yi, man, thir huv tae be birds in this somewhere."

"Oohh… I think there will be," the Doctor said easily, and Fergus realised his eyes were no longer on his. He followed his line of sight, turning to see two willowy, graceful aliens hailing a taxi from the busy street behind them.

Although they were wearing deep purple dresses that swished around their ankles, it was impossible not to notice the amazing curves that filled them out, or the shocks of chestnut brown hair that swung around their shoulders as they giggled their way to the kerb. Their deep chocolate skin, traced over with fine, gold lines, made them appear almost feline as they pushed each other toward the waiting door of the taxi.

Fergus watched them climb in.

"So… hoe far is this UN meeting then?" he asked the Doctor, his eyes following the taxi as it sped off past them. The girl nearest the window to them looked up for the briefest of seconds. _Ah hope she saw me._

"Not far away," the Doctor said knowingly. "Coming?"

"Absolutely," Fergus breathed, turning and following the Time Lord quickly.


	4. Chapter 4

X 04

The Doctor strode up to the main doors confidently, only stopping when a tall, wide gentleman blocked his path and coughed politely.

"Ooh, you ought to get that seen to," the Doctor said with a friendly grin, but the old man didn't move.

"Your security pass, sir?" he asked, his voice a deeply resonating hum.

"Of course, silly me," the Doctor allowed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the black fold-over wallet containing the psychic paper. He opened it for the man to see.

The man took it slowly, reading it and looking up.

"And you are alone, sir?" he asked slowly.

The Doctor looked around behind him, then tutted.

"Oi! Where've you got to now!" he called almost irritably.

"Mister Campbell _is_ with you, I trust?" the man added. The Doctor looked back at him.

"He is, he just… gets excited and wanders off," he said, annoyed.

"Young men will do that, sir," the man said warmly. "I myself have two sons, they can be a handful."

"How – um – marvellous for you," the Doctor managed, distracted by his search for the young wayward Scot. "Oi! Mister Campbell!" he shouted.

"Here, Skipper," he said quickly, appearing from his left.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, riled.

"Just looking fae them wee lassies, Skipper. Ah reckon they're inside," he winked. He noticed the gentleman on the door and hesitated. "Oh. Is it ID time?"

"The Doctor has provided both of your security passes, young man," the old man said kindly. "Do not cause him to tarry much longer. In you go," he said, standing aside.

"Oh, well then, thanks very much," he said brightly, walking past the two men and into the main doors. The Doctor shook his head, following.

They walked into a large reception area, all carpeted in red and smelling suspiciously like the foyer of the Manchester Evening News Arena, Fergus noticed.

"Who are we this time?" he asked, putting his hand out for the wallet containing the psychic paper. The Doctor simply handed it over, not even looking at it as he stared up and around at all the differing types of aliens wandering about.

"Says here Ah'm just Fergus Campbell," he shrugged, then he paused. "And yir _Doctor_ Campbell!" he grinned. "Yi huv a name, at last."

"I already have one, but thanks," the Doctor said, pre-occupied, looking around.

"We're scientists on a research mission from thi… thi Boolong Jadoof Scientific Academy of Bullosarrus Nine?" he hazarded, shaking his head. He snapped it shut and handed it to the Doctor. "So what do we do noe?"

"We look for the meeting," he said, taking the wallet off him and pushing it back into his inside jacket pocket.

Fergus reached out and tapped the Doctor's arm suddenly. "Look! There they are!"

He pointed and the Doctor looked around to see the two girls standing by the entrance doors.

Their dresses certainly did them justice, and Fergus felt his mouth go dry.

"C'moan!" he said excitedly, pulling at the Doctor's arm. He pulled himself free but followed, a small smile on his face.

As they crossed the room two older men approached the girls from their left, stopping to talk to them. Fergus slowed to a stop, but the Doctor barrelled on.

"Wait just noe," Fergus hissed at him, and he stopped and looked round at him.

"What?" he asked innocently. "Let's just –"

"No, wait," he said again. "Look."

The girls did not appear happy to be with the two males, and the Doctor took another step forward to interrupt. But again, Fergus put a hand out and stopped him.

As he did so, the shorter girl looked over and her eyes met the Doctor's. He smiled genially, raising his hand and wiggling his fingers in a manner which Fergus had no doubt these girls would consider "cute". The Scot let go of the Time Lord's arm to wave too. The girl, blatantly ignoring the two men still talking, turned and elbowed the other girl slightly, nodding her head.

The taller girl looked over and caught sight of Fergus, smiling instantly. He swallowed and smiled back, before she raised a hand and waved her fingers at him.

It took him a minute to realise she was being friendly, such was the amount of blood pumping through his temples. He waved back dumbly, and she looked at the other girl, giggling. She waved her hand and purse at the man still trying to talk at her, and simply took the other girl's elbow. She looked back at Fergus before pushing her friend on and into the entrance doors.

The Doctor shrugged to himself and turned to see Fergus, mouth half open, staring after them. He grinned and slapped his hand down heavily on the younger man's shoulder.

"Come on then," he said loudly, "let's get inside, shall we?"

They walked in, expecting to be dwarfed by the number of people and the building itself.

They were not disappointed. The ceiling was a good two hundred feet high, with gold and fancy patterns swirling round each other into infinity. Huge balustrades ran down the wall, a dozen small carvings from something akin to marble adorning it at intervals. The wall itself was deep red, with so many tiny faces it almost appeared completely round.

"Woah," Fergus allowed, nodding. He put his hands in his jeans pockets, just looking round and grinning. "Noe this is what Ah call a UN meeting room."

"Hearing Hall, apparently," the Doctor corrected, eyeing a highly polished metallic-looking plate, screwed to the wall nearest him. "Built in... er, 1947. The Gregorian calendar? Out here? Weird," he said, his grin dying by degrees as large cogs spun in his infinite brain, processing this.

"Doesnae look like it," Fergus observed, his gaze already stealing round the many heads, trying to find the two brown-haired girls. "There," he said, putting a hand out and grabbing the Doctor's sleeve.

"Alright, steady on," the Doctor protested, following him more down toward the front. "Honestly, Mister Campbell, your libido has absolutely no bounds."

"There's no answer tae that, is thir?" he grinned, and the Doctor simply followed him to two empty seats near the front.

"Now all we have to do is sit through a few hours of boring waffle from old boys in smart suits," he said pleasantly. Fergus sat down, indicating the free seat next to him. The Doctor sat slowly, pulling his long coat round him and giving an involuntary shiver. "And get them to turn the heat on."

"Alright, _old_ man," Fergus teased, then settled back with a wide grin on his face.

The Doctor looked around, then spotted the reason for his young charge's sudden willingness to attend such a stuffy meeting: the two girls were sat in the row to their left, and the older one was nudging the smaller one, pointing out the two men discretely.

Fergus sniffed to himself and made a show of only just noticing them there. The Doctor tutted to himself, eyeing the ceiling briefly, as Fergus waved his fingers at the two girls. The older one waved back, then turned to the other and their heads went together.

"I just hope this isn't going to end in tears," the Time Lord said easily to himself.

"Shut it you. Watch thi show," Fergus said from the side of his mouth.

Important people wandered round the platform in front of them, and then microphones and chairs were arranged on the stage.

The Doctor decided he would put all his attention into the meeting. After all, it promised to be distinctly less boring than observing Fergus's attempt at charm.

-------------------------------------------------

The speakers dragged on, and Fergus was beginning to think he'd made a mistake after all. The girls were certainly nice enough, but the older one, which he'd privately hoped would look at him more than once every half an hour, seemed much more aloof than her younger friend.

It was while some short, round woman was banging on about the need for energy reserves to be released from some storage facility that Fergus realised the younger girl wasn't actually watching him at all, but rather the Doctor next to him.

He huffed, mouthing '_typical_' to himself, before settling back and concentrating on not falling asleep.

He looked at the Doctor and found him staring at the woman on the stage as if she were delivering '_Hamlet_' entirely in Earth Welsh.

"What is it?" he hissed from the side of his mouth.

"Well for one thing, they shouldn't have those microphones for this hall. They're not made on Krimmanhell – they actually look like they've come from Radio Shack," he added curiously.

"That's it?"

"I'm not sure," he said slowly. "There's just something wrong with all of this."

"Like?" Fergus pressed, relieved perhaps there might be something exciting hiding round the corner.

"Well, the wrong word here, an odd feeling there… There's just something that shouldn't be here. It feels _wrong_," he said, concerned. Fergus watched him for another moment, then simply sat back and looked around the stage slowly. He nodded to himself.

"There isnae any water on her podium thing," he remarked. The Doctor turned his head quickly and looked at him.

"What?"

"There's nae water, man. Seeing as she's been yakking fae close to an hoor, you'd think she'd need a drink," he added frankly.

The Doctor looked back at the stage then frowned, and Fergus noticed the Time Lord's jaw slide to one side, the muscles dimpling as he chewed at the inside of his lip.

"And don't dae that," he added quickly.

The Doctor sniffed and perched an elbow on the armrest between them, wiping his mouth slowly while he thought.

"There's just something…" he muttered to himself.

"Well, think aboot something else. Then it'll come tae you really quick," Fergus said with a nod. "Talking o' which, Ah think we should ask them lassies–"

"She's leaving," the Doctor said suddenly. Fergus sighed and watched everyone start to clap hands or slap armrests, as the round woman left the stage slowly, smiling and waving.

"Is that it noe?" he asked hopefully, but a man walked onto the stage, waving an alarmingly large sheaf of notes with him.

Fergus sighed and settled back into his seat.

_If Ah'm lucky, Ah won't fall asleep in front of thi lassies, _he sighed to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

X 05

"Ah – er – madam?" the Doctor called, eagerly flagging down the women from the stage.

She turned and spoke to an aide quickly, and the Time Lord was immediately surrounded by similarly short, friendly ladies. The speaker simply turned and slipped away through the crowd.

One woman grabbed the Doctor's hand, pumping it up and down as best she could. He began talking so fast she simply stared up at him. He towered over her by a good three feet, and Fergus, off to one side with his hands in his back pockets, couldn't help grinning to himself at the absurdity.

He left the Gallifreyan deep in discussion with the odd alien women, turning and looking round for sight of the girls.

After forty minutes of no sign, he wandered back and found the Doctor still engrossed in conversation, but this time with a slightly taller man, who nevertheless still only came up to his tie. They appeared to be sketching things out on the palms of their hands for clarity, talking very quickly and apparently in complete sync.

Fergus shook his head sadly, walking over and tapping the Doctor's arm.

"Fascinating!" the Time Lord grinned down at the alien male. "And it's here?"

"Of course," the man said, with a particular amount of pride, Fergus thought. "We would not let the Klystians remove it, even under duress."

"So they've attacked you for it _as well_?" the Doctor asked, pulling his arm free of Fergus's attentions.

"Oh, so many people have tried to take it from us, Doctor Campbell," he said dismissively. "But we have always repelled them. Anyway, with it still non-functional, it's easy to guard and move around, should we need to."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed slowly, his eyes glazing over ever so slightly. Fergus yanked on his arm. "Hmm?" he asked, distracted, then turned and looked at him. "Oh, it's you. What now?" he asked cheerfully. "Find them?"

"If Ah had, would Ah be _here_?" Fergus asked, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice.

"True," he said, then turned back to the small male. "Well, sir, thank you very much for your conversation."

"Delighted, Doctor Campbell. It's not often I have a chance to speak to someone with such intimate knowledge of reverse-buffering circuits," he said, pleased.

"Just a hobby, you know how it is," he winked, shaking his hand and turning to Fergus. "Come on then, time we were off," he said simply.

As they walked away, Fergus looked at him, taking in the bounce to his step, the slight smile in his eyes that was carefully kept separate from his mouth.

"What noe?" he asked wearily.

"What?"

"Ah said, what's in that heid of yurs noe?" he asked patiently.

"These people have a _machine_," the Doctor said, letting his manic grin conquer his face at last.

"Great," Fergus managed, shrugging.

"A _Time _machine," he said pointedly. Fergus almost stopped walking, then looked at him.

"Can they huv that?" he asked, confused. "A real one?"

"Wouldn't hurt to check, would it?" he asked with a wink. Fergus grinned.

"Hae, maybe it has one of them – what dae yi call it – chameleon things that disguises it. Yi could pinch it!" he said with a nudge.

"I could borrow it and make a copy," the Doctor said with a warning look at the much younger man. "And then put it back."

"Oh aye, yi could dae that, too," he allowed quickly.

The Doctor shook his head as they walked on, and they came to a set of doors. The Doctor stopped and yanked both of them open, walking through and looking around.

Fergus followed and they found themselves back in the foyer, looking around.

"Well hello at last."

Fergus turned quickly, pulling the Doctor after him.

"Girls!" he cried, pleased beyond measure. The two brunettes looked at him expectantly, and he grinned. "Well, hullo there," he said suavely. "We was in the meeting just noe, we saw yous doon the front, likesay," he said added.

The Doctor rolled his eyes but said nothing.

"We know," the smaller one said, then flicked her gaze at the taller girl. "_He's_ nice," she said in a small voice, and the older one nudged her stiffly.

"We saw you, sir. You seemed very interested in the meeting," she said, but it appeared to be directed at the Time Lord.

The Doctor moved to answer, but Fergus stepped in front of him neatly.

"And we've clocked you an' all, hen," he said cheerfully. "No a bad pair o' lassies, we're thinking."

"But you can't be in here, not without the proper authority," the older girl said idly, smiling.

"Oh we huv that, hen, we huv that," he said quickly. The younger girl snapped her fingers suddenly.

"I understand – you are here for the certification of heirhood?" she asked.

"What-hood?" Fergus asked. The Doctor again opened his mouth, but was interrupted.

"To make your lineage official?" she prompted. "I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced. I'm Bronnin, and this is my sister, Kickick."

"Sisters, man, sisters," Fergus breathed from the side of his mouth at the Doctor, elbowing him slightly. "Ah'm Fergus Campbell, this is thi Doctor," he said cheerfully to the girls, chucking a thumb over his shoulder.

"You call your father by his working title?" the taller Kickick asked, confused. "Ah. This must be how it's done in your city."

"Ma what?" Fergus asked, mouth dropping open.

"Well if you're in _this_ building you must be here for certification of heirhood," she said. "So this is your father, yes?"

There was a moment's silence, during which Fergus again tried to get his head round what she had just said. Again he failed.

"Yir no wrong thir," the Doctor said suddenly, pushing past the shorter Fergus and putting his hand out politely. Bronnin took it warmly, smiling at him. "Doctor Campbell, at yir service, miss."

"Ooh, well, I say," she giggled, watching him pull his hand back. Fergus just stared at him, then remembered to close his gaping mouth.

"So yir here tae secure yir line too, then?" the gangly Gallifreyan continued, ignoring Fergus's stare admirably.

"We are, Doctor Campbell," she said, flushing slightly. She turned toward her sister, smiling at her meaningfully, and Fergus took the opportunity to nudge the Doctor in the ribs again.

"Accent?" he demanded from the corner of his mouth.

"Leave it," the Doctor hissed back, then turned a beatific smile on the sisters as they looked back at the pair of them.

"Are you coming to the dinner this evening?" the taller Kickick asked Fergus directly. "We'd love to see you there."

"Then we'll huv tae come, eh," the Doctor grinned, pushing his elbow into the young Scot's arm.

"Oh… aye, o' course," he managed, still a little confused.

"Oooh, would yi look at thi purr wee man," the Doctor winked ebulliently at Kickick, who was still eyeing Fergus up and down. "So rude in thi presence of such barry wee lassies. He cannae help it, girls, he doesnae get out much."

While the girls giggled delightedly, Fergus turned and stared malevolently at the Time Lord. Then he cleared his throat and turned back to look at the sisters.

"Would yi like us tae escort yous tae the dinner, girls?" Fergus asked suavely, and the sisters brightened visibly.

"We would like that very much, Mister Campbell," Bronnin said coquettishly.

"Oh please," he said charmingly, "call me Fergus."

"Of course," she giggled, flushing slightly. Fergus let his shoulders straighten before he felt the heavy fall of the Doctor's hand on his right one.

"Well, sorry tae break this up, but we huv a few things that need seeing to," the Time Lord said apologetically.

"Of course, how rude of us to detain you," the older girl said with a broad smile. "We shall be waiting to meet you, in the foyer, in three hours," she added confidently.

"And we'll be here early if this young man has anything tae sae about it, Ah'm sure," he said over Fergus's shoulder.

The girls waved fingers at the pair of men and walked away in a decidedly controlled manner.

Fergus turned on the Doctor swiftly.

"Yi bastard blagger!" he accused straight away.

"Hey, you started it!" the Doctor cried, surprised. "Drooling over a pair of girls? At your age?" he said indignantly, his voice wedged high in the rafters. "You should be ashamed. I've told you before, Mister Campbell, they'll only get you into trouble."

"Would yi care tae explain the accent thing?" he said quickly, but the Doctor was already strolling across the foyer, hands in his pockets.

"Nope," he said smugly, popping the 'p', and Fergus tutted before hurrying to catch him up.

"So hoe come yi've a posh end o' the city accent, making me soond like a ned?" he asked quickly. The Doctor looked at him and simply arched a single eyebrow. "Oh," Fergus allowed, his shoulders falling like his indignation, nodding to himself as they walked.

-------------------------------------------------

"So, what's this thing we're looking for, then?" Fergus asked, following the Doctor down the icy street.

"The good Professor Marm has told me all about this machine they've got here. Apparently it's kept locked away because people keep trying to steal it."

"But it's a time machine, no? Hoe can they huv made a time machine? Ah thought _yir_ lot kinda invented the –"

"We did. But that doesn't preclude other people stumbling over the technology," he said easily. "I'm just wondering why people are trying to steal it while it's not working."

"It's not?"

"Professor Marm indicated it had power problems."

"Is that why that stumpy bird wanted thi energy reserves released?" Fergus asked, and the Doctor spared him a glance. "See, Ah do listen _some_times."

The Doctor grinned. "Apparently," he agreed. "But they'd need serious amount of power to–." He stopped, thinking. "If you had a machine, easily portable, that could open a hole in Time, but needed whopping great amounts of energy to work it, where would you hide it?" he asked innocently.

"Er… somewhere no-one would think o' looking," he said firmly. "Somewhere secure. Somewhere next tae a huge power supply."

"Like the bank?" the Doctor asked, stopping abruptly.

"The bank?" Fergus prompted, looking around the cold, dark street. "Ah didnae see a –"

"Exactly," the Doctor said brightly. "But on the map, the bank is right next door to the power station."

"Right then," Fergus said. "Where was thi power station?"

"Er…"

The Doctor looked around, and Fergus folded his arms, amused. Then he put a hand out and stopped the Time Lord's slow circular search. He pointed and the Doctor stopped, following his arm.

"I knew that. I was just giving you a chance to make yourself feel clever," he said dismissively, and Fergus grinned, pushing him on to walk what looked like a long few blocks to the building.


	6. Chapter 6

SIX

"He said he was a doctor," Professor Marm said defensively. "I wasn't to know we weren't allowed to discuss scientific research at a scientific research meeting."

"Professor, I've told you before – no aliens are to be given valuable information on our findings!" the short female scolded him, slapping a hand on the table. He jumped slightly at the noise.

"But Madam Premier, I thought –"

"No, you didn't think!" she snapped. "You never do! All you do is puzzle over equations, and formulae, and science!_ I'm_ the one who has to try and stop the other planets from stealing our inventions and sabotaging our work!"

"My apologies, Madam Premier."

"And I should think so, too! Explaining the very nature of the machine to some gangly alien, simply because it asked for the schematics!" she growled. "Now get out, and if you know what's good for you and Krimmanhell, you will not talk to any aliens about any of your work again!"

"Yes, Madam Premier," he said quietly, turning and leaving the room quickly.

She sighed and sat back in her high chair, dragging hands over her face and taking a deep breath. She leaned forward and put her fingers to a lip in the desk, lifting out a screen. She put her hands on the touch screen and began searching the security footage of the moment Professor Marm had inadvertently given away Krimmanhell's biggest secret.

-------------------------------------------------

"Skipper," Fergus whispered hoarsely. "Thi bloody door's locked!"

"Alright," the Doctor whispered back from the darkness, approaching from his left. He squeezed in front of the younger man and applied his screwdriver to the lift doors.

They opened and they got in, looking around and at the panel of floor buttons.

"Hmm," the Doctor said to himself, sliding the screwdriver back into his inside pocket. "It seems we have too many floors to choose from."

"Well Ah reckon it's in thi vault," Fergus said, nodding to himself. The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, then looked at Fergus.

"Yeah?" he asked dubiously, eyebrows hiding up under his fringe.

"Trust me," he said, nodding.

The Doctor shrugged and put a hand out, touching the basement button. The lift doors closed and it began to sink.

"Yi knoe," Fergus said quietly, watching the large blue numbers on the display count backwards from fifteen, "we huv a fantastic opportunity hir, Skipper."

"To do what?" he asked, looking at him with interest.

"Well, if we plae urr cards right, we could end up wi' a sister each," he grinned.

The Doctor flicked his gaze at the ceiling, tutting slightly as he leant back against the wall of the lift. He rolled his head round comfortably to look slightly down at Fergus.

"Is that all you think about?" he asked curiously.

"Hae, Ah'm nearly twenty-eight years old, pal. Ah've been around the universe at all times o' the dae and night, but Ah'm still sleeping alone, ken?"

"Twenty-eight?" the Doctor said, surprised. "I thought you were much older than that."

"Hoe old do I look?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, well… er, I'm not really sure," the Doctor said quickly, straightening off the wall and turning to look at the blue numbers.

"No, come on, yi sae that like–"

"Younger than me," he interrupted.

"Well, Ah huv tae sae, man, yi looked aboot fifty when yi got up that morning after thi last pub quiz," he added cheekily. "Seriously, yi can't be much older than… what, late thirties?"

The Doctor snorted in amusement. "Times that by about… twenty-five – six – five – oh, I don't know," he sighed resignedly.

"What?" Fergus said quickly. The Doctor turned and looked at him, his eyes wide with innocence.

"Not all in this lifetime," he said pointedly, and Fergus nodded slowly.

"Ah see… so that's yir real age, then? Ah did wonder. Ah mean, I knoe yi just keep dying and coming back, but…"

"Not exactly," the Doctor said gingerly, pulling at his ear suddenly.

"Alright, whatever yi call it when yi cheat death," he smiled.

The lift pinged and the doors opened slowly.

"Look at it this wae," Fergus said brightly as they walked out cautiously, "think of all thi birds yi could go through, knowing that yi'll huv tae change yi face sooner or later!"

"Quite," the Doctor said, but for some reason his smile was less than convincing. Fergus decided to leave it.

"So what's this place then?" he asked, looking round the reception area.

"Well let's see," the Doctor said grandly, turning and flipping on few light switches. Banks of lighting in the ceiling clicked on, sending a dazzling burst of light throughout the room. "We have a reception desk, a set of locked bars behind it, a vault door behind that, and a rather large complicated lock on _that_. I could be wrong, but I think we've found the vault," he said cheerfully, putting his hands in his trouser pockets and sauntering over.

"Do Ah get Brownie points noe?" Fergus asked cheekily.

The Doctor bent closer to the bars, looking at something. He put his hand inside his brown suit jacket and pulled out his glasses, slipping them on and 'hmm'ing to himself.

"Well, you'll be in line for Brownie points and Brownie cake _too_ if you can tell me what's wrong with this picture," he said, sounding pre-occupied.

Fergus's smile died and he walked over to stand next to him, peering through the bars at the vault door, and the heavy lock on the outside.

"It doesnae huv a keyhole?" he ventured.

"Not all locks need keys," the Time Lord said mildly.

"Ok then…" He squinted and studied the lock from three feet away, then closed his eyes and shook his head, wiping his eyes over. "Ah huv tae sae, Ah'm no a locksmith," he pointed out.

"Oh and I am?" the Doctor asked, but he still sounded very much pre-occupied.

"Oh! Ah get it!" he said suddenly, making the Doctor jump slightly. "It's no locked! Lookie at that side bar, man! It's no locked!"

"You're right," he said quietly, staring at it, deep in thought. He straightened and pulled his glasses off slowly, closing them and sliding them back in his pocket. "Why would anyone–." His breath stopped and he looked at Fergus quickly. "I think we should leave right now."

"Noe? But we huvnae –"

"We're not supposed to be here," the Doctor said quickly, turning and racing for the lift. Fergus ran after him, watching him hammer the button impatiently. "Come on! Come on!"

"That's never bothered yi before," he pointed out, confused.

"We're not supposed to be here, because someone _else_ is supposed to be here – stealing it!" he said through gritted teeth as he watched the blue numbers on the display count down. "Who is probably already on their way down!"

"Yi mean thieves comes in lifts, noe?" Fergus asked, surprised.

"Maybe they're just lazy!" he shot back, grabbing Fergus's coat sleeve and pulling him after him. They disappeared behind the filing cabinets in the corner.

"Are we watching them then?" Fergus whispered. The Doctor eyed him and he clamped his mouth shut quickly, nodding to himself.

They listened. It was silent a good few minutes before they heard the now familiar ping of the lift arriving. The doors slid open and they held their breath.

The sound of feet moved from their right side round to their left, and Fergus thought about putting his head round to see past the edge of the filing cabinet. He paused as he heard voices.

"Do you have the key?" someone said. It sounded female.

"Here," said another voice, this one male.

Fergus looked at the Doctor, lifting his hand and miming turning a key, then shrugging. The Doctor shook his head irritably, then flicked a finger up and down, mouthing the word '_bars_' at him. Fergus 'oh'ed and felt a little silly.

They heard the key go in the lock and the metallic scrape of the bars opening.

Fergus dared to look round the side of the cabinet, and spotted two very thin figures, one of which was in a black dinner suit. The other appeared to have a long black coat on, but he noticed the shimmer of a gold evening dress poking out underneath.

He brought his head back and had time to look confused before they heard the vault clicking and thunking.

Then came the sound of the heavy door swinging on hydraulic hinges, the gasps and hisses of victory of the two intruders, and the sound of things being picked up or moved about.

The Doctor turned slowly, his back to the filing cabinet, and Fergus watched him simply put his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. He rubbed his eyes under his glasses, then rested his chin in his palms again, apparently unfazed.

The sound of feet caught his attention, and he listened as the lift button was pressed excitedly.

"So she could be trusted after all," the female voice said.

"See? I told you. Sometimes Krimmanhellians aren't too bad," the male voice chuckled.

The Doctor took his chin from his hands quickly, sliding back round and sticking his head round the side of the filing cabinet next to him. He edged his eye round, then drew back silently as the lift doors opened and the two thieves disappeared.

Fergus relaxed and blew out a sigh, letting his feet out from under him and sitting on the floor slowly.

"What was all that aboot?" he asked, his voice still quiet.

The Doctor hadn't moved; he was still crouching behind the cabinet as if he expected something further to happen.

"Skipper?" Fergus asked, then hushed himself as the Doctor turned and looked at him. His eyes were wide but lidded, as if they couldn't decide whether to be bright with discovery or intrigue.

"We have to get out of here before they realise what they've done," he breathed quietly. He got up swiftly and moved to the lift, pressing the button.

"What_have_ they done then?" Fergus asked. "Besides reft a heavy paper-weight? Yi said that Professor reckoned it didnae work."

"Exactly. Someone's set them up," he said. "Whoever this female Krimmanhellian is," he said darkly.

"So… which one's a Krimmanhellian?" he asked, confused. "The girls?"

"No, they're obviously Romm," he said dismissively. "Krimmanhellians are the short fat ones – like the woman on stage at tonight's meeting, the Professor I was talking to, like that," he said quickly.

The lift pinged and they stepped in.

"So… Are we no expecting tae be stopped when we reach thi top floor again?" he asked.

"No. Whoever's left the vault unlocked and the lifts running has obviously given them enough of a window to get clear of the building, too," he said thoughtfully. "But why would any of the Krimmanhellians want a couple of Laikans to steal their time machine? When it doesn't work?"

"Woah, woah, woah," Fergus said, moving to stare at the Doctor. "What thi Hell's a Laikan?"

"You saw them – all thin and spindly," he said.

"Ah saw figures in penguin suits and masks, Skipper," he pointed out. "Ah didnae see any solid proof of species."

"Penguin suits… they must be going on to the dinner tonight," the Doctor said, biting his lip. "Brilliant!" he cried suddenly, and Fergus jumped slightly. "We can find out which two they are while we're there!"

"No, we can talk tae them two lassies while wir there," he said firmly. The Doctor looked at him.

"I'll do you a deal," he said with a daffy grin. "You entertain both girls, and I'll find out who the robbers are. Sound like a plan?" he asked.

"With a big P," Fergus grinned.

The lift shot upwards.


	7. Chapter 7

SEVEN

"Ah wish we could huv skipped back home to change first," Fergus said, pulling his jacket a little tighter. "Those two were in penguin suits, and wir in trainers."

"Oi!_I've_ got a suit," the Doctor pointed out plaintively. "I_like_ this suit."

"Yeah well, no offence man, but it's looking a wee bit _used_ just noe," he said apologetically. The Doctor looked down at it, taking a hand from his pocket and dusting off the front quickly. "Look thir," he said quickly, pointing along the cold, icy street. "A shop. Come on."

He walked on, not even checking to see if the Time Lord was following him.

He opened the door of the shop, nodding politely to the tall, thin old lady behind the counter.

"Good evening, sir," she said, looking rather austere. "It is rather late. Is there something I can provide for you?"

"Aye, two penguin suits hen, and wir in a hurry," he said with a grin.

-------------------------------------------------

"Doctor Campbell's very… tall," Bronnin said thoughtfully. "Where do you think they're from?"

"I don't really know," Kickick said, looking round the foyer and trying to hide her impatience to see the two males again. "For a father and son, they don't look alike," she said.

"No. But maybe that's what it's like on their world," Bronnin said. She sniffed, tossing her long chestnut hair over her shoulder and clearing her throat quietly. "So… this Fergus?" she said lightly. "You like him, I can tell."

"And?" she asked, turning to look at her slightly shorter sister.

"Nothing. You don't mind he's not Romm?" she asked directly. Kickick snorted with amusement quietly, turning to look back out over the foyer.

"That can only be a good thing. You know what Romm men are like," she said scathingly.

"Quite," Bronnin agreed. She turned. "Oh," she said in a small voice suddenly. "Um, Kee," she said quickly, putting her hand out and knocking her sister's elbow.

"What?" she asked, amused, then turned to see what her sister was looking at.

What she saw was Fergus and the Doctor, now dressed rather elegantly in black ties and evening suits, crossing the foyer toward them.

"He does wear that well, doesn't he?" she managed, stifling a small, wistful sigh.

"Which one?" Bronnin pointed out, then looked at her sister quickly. "Remember – don't let them think they're onto a sure thing!" she hissed. Kickick looked at her quickly.

"Bron!" she admonished, then sniffed to herself. "I wasn't going to anyway."

They dissolved into sisterly giggles as Fergus encountered them first.

"Evening girls," he said with a wide smile. "And hoe are urr two favourite lassies?"

"All the better for seeing you," Kickick said with a pleasant smile.

"Well then hen, seems we should be inside already. Mae I?" Fergus said suavely, putting his elbow out.

The Doctor realised his eyes were rolling and stopped himself as Kickick took Fergus's arm hesitantly. He smiled and pulled her gently on, walking toward the entrance to the large Hearing Hall.

Bronnin smiled to see her sister glide away with Fergus, then turned to find the Doctor looking around, hands in his pockets. She took a deep breath and clasped her clutch purse very tightly.

"You don't say much," she offered cheerfully, stepping a little closer to him and tilting her head slightly to be in his line of vision.

He blinked, as if realising she were still there, and his mouth worked for a second before he nodded.

"Oh, Ah'm just… looking," he managed. She smiled brightly.

"So tell me, Doctor Campbell," she said, reaching out bravely and sliding her arm through the loop produced by his hand still in his pocket, "just what are you a doctor of?"

He smiled down at her, and she grinned in relief that he wasn't shrinking away from her.

"Oooh, most things," he teased, then turned them round, walking after the other two. It was then that Bronnin laughed suddenly. "What?" he asked curiously.

"Your son really does have to teach you a few things," she said, covering her mouth as she laughed.

"Why's that then?" he asked, a bemused smile on his face.

"Well he took the effort to change his shoes," she said, nodding to the black Converse on his feet as they walked.

"Ah _love_ these shoes!" he cried defensively, making her laugh. "These shoes huv saved ma life a few times. Ah'm no gettin' rid o' these!"

"Really?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Oh awae with ye, of course not," he grinned.

"You know," she said, leaning on his arm slightly, "I think Fergus has a lot to learn from _you_, after all."

"Yi huv no idea," he said pleasantly as they walked through the entrance to the Hearing Hall.

It had been redressed to seat hundreds of the best-dressed and most influential heads of what appeared to be every head of state for all fifteen planets and a few more besides, the Doctor observed. Bronnin watched him look over the mixture of aliens and races, watching his face change and reflect a hundred million thoughts fleeting through his head at any one time.

"Over there," she said gently, pushing on his arm. He looked down at her, then over where she was pointing. Kickick was waving sedately, and the Doctor pulled Bronnin on over to the large four-sided table.

He followed her round and pulled her chair out for her, waiting for her to sit before sliding it in.

"Thank you," she said timidly, blushing slightly, but only Kickick, sat opposite her, noticed. She winked at her younger sister before watching the Doctor sit opposite Fergus slowly. He was on Kickick's right, doing his best not to stare at her.

"So you girls are fae Romm, is that right?" he asked confidently.

"We are," Kickick said. "And where are you two from? We've never seen people like you two before," she said. "Perhaps… somewhere near Klyst?" she hazarded. "I hear they have all kinds of races there, mostly due to the break-up of the border treaties," she added sadly.

The Doctor laced his fingers together, his elbows on the table.

"But thi border treaties were solidified intae thi Klyst Peace Accords," he said, confused. "They've been rebuilding thi Klyst Alliance fae thi past… ooh," he said, thinking suddenly, "two years?"

"Doctor Campbell you must be mistaken," she said, baffled. "Only last week another moon was attacked by Man raiders. It was awful," she added, looking away.

The Doctor let his eyes wander to and fasten on the arrangement of flowers in the small vase, adorning the centre of the table. He didn't say a word, and Fergus could almost hear the whirl and grind of great wheels turning.

"Oh look," Bronnin said suddenly, sounding much more pleased, "the set have arrived!"

Fergus and the two girls turned to see the gentlemen and ladies in fine evening wear take their seats around an array of musical instruments of all shapes and sizes. Fergus grinned suddenly as the music started up. It was a slow, easy waltz-style fusion of stringed instruments and vibrating tones, and the young Scot turned to look at Kickick, trying to contain his excitement.

"Would yi care tae dance?" he said, trying to be nonchalant.

"I would love to," she said with a warm smile, putting her hand up. Fergus took it firmly and she stood, following him to the large open dancefloor.

Bronnin sat back, pleased, as she watched her sister slide around the floor gracefully, Fergus keeping up with her and the pair of them chuckling at his attempts to be half as good as her.

_She hasn't been this happy since Father died_, she observed, letting herself listen to the music and relax. It was a few minutes before she looked over at the Doctor.

He didn't appear to have moved. His elbows were still on the table, his mouth resting on his clasped fingers, his eyes staring at nothing like it owed him a new screwdriver handle.

"Doctor Campbell?" she asked politely.

He shifted his gaze and looked up at her quickly, letting his hands drop from the table abruptly.

"Yes. Hullo," he said pleasantly, and she smiled.

"You seem to be so very far away," she said quietly.

"Oh, just… just… thinking," he allowed. He looked around, realising perhaps that it was just the two of them at the table now. "So hoe long huv you two been trying tae get to Glasgow?" he asked brightly.

"A year now, Doctor Campbell. We began the petition as soon as we heard of this new planet. Unfortunately it was too late for Father – he passed away just two years before that. Anyway, as we are of important blood on Romm, and we're not that far from Glasgow, we heard all about it. We came here to get permission to relocate to the 'new world'," she smiled.

"And?" he asked, leaning back in his chair and letting his hands wander into his pockets comfortably.

"And we're still waiting. There are so many people from so many worlds, all trying to get to Glasgow and start a new life."

"What's wrong with this one, then?" he asked idly. "Seems you two huv most things yi need."

"Oh we do, Doctor Campbell, we do," she said warmly. "But… Romm is not the beautiful world it once was. There have been dreadful planetary catastrophes in the last year – one continent slipped entirely back into the sea," she said darkly. "They _say_ the tectonic plates are under immense pressure and won't be able to withstand a few more thousand years."

"But Romm's one o' thi most stable places in thi galaxy," he pointed out, confused.

"It used to be, yes. Oh – but you've been there?" she asked, surprised.

"Aye, Ah've been thir," he said slowly, thinking. "And it was nothing like yi said."

"I assure you, I am telling the truth," she said a little archly. He looked at her quickly.

"No, no, Ah know," he said hastily. "It's just that… everything here's a little… weird," he allowed, rolling the word around his mouth thoughtfully. She smiled.

"I know that feeling," she said, and he looked back at her. She gazed at him, shaking her head slightly. "Every time I stand on a different planet, I wonder why the air feels different."

"Really?" he smiled curiously, his eyes warm suddenly. "Ah always wonder if Ah'll remember where Ah parked ma ship."

She laughed suddenly, covering her mouth politely and slapping the table.

"Oh dear, Doctor Campbell," she said. "And I thought all aliens were boring. Where did you say you were from again?"

"Ah didn't," he pointed out. "We're hir from… the Boolong Jadoof Scientific Academy of Bullosarrus Nine," he added, more seriously.

"Really? What are you researching?" she asked, fascinated.

"Oh… Time stuff," he said gingerly.

"Like what?" she asked, leaning her elbow on the table and putting her chin in it. "Go on, what is it? I like Time stuff."

"Really?" he asked, then grinned. "Alright then, we're researching thi use of tesseracts as storage sizes and / or linear measurements of space-time, and needed some flight-time fae experiments outside of the Bullosarrus system's pulsar waves," he said.

She sniffed politely, thinking.

"Isn't a tesseract one of those things that looks like a cube inside a cube, but exists only in four dimensions?" she said slowly.

"Yes! Knoe a lot about primitive string and bubble theories too, do ye?" he asked, chuckling.

"It's a hobby. I read," she grinned.

"Well then yi read very well, Ah must sae," he grinned affably. She looked around.

"I also dance, although not very well. Do you?" she asked, standing slowly.

"Oh, er, Ah don't knoe about that, Ah mean –"

"Oh come on. Everyone else is," she pointed out. She watched his eyes dart about the room, then paused. "What are you looking for? Are you waiting for something?" she asked suddenly, curiosity burning.

He looked back at her for a long moment.

"Sometimes we don't knoe what we're waiting fae," he said with a broad smile, "and that's thi time tae be thi first one on thi dance floor," he added, getting up slowly.

"Very profound," she said appreciatively. "And which famous philosopher said that?"

"Er… Jason Orange, Ah think," he shrugged. "Um… It's been a long time since Ah've had tae remember hoe tae do this," he said apologetically.

"Oh come on. No-one here really knows how to do it right anyway," she said warmly, taking his arm and pulling him toward the dancefloor.


	8. Chapter 8

EIGHT

Fergus and Kickick danced and danced, while Bronnin suggested it was time to get drinks and start saying hello to various important officials.

"So why are yi ingratiating yaself with these boring people?" the Doctor asked her, taking the champagne glass she handed him.

"Because the more people we can become friends with, the more likely we can get our application stamped. And then we can be on Glasgow," she said happily. She lifted her own glass of champagne, sipping it delicately.

He nodded. "Right," he said firmly, looking around. "Ah heard there wir people fae all over down here. Don't see anyone from Laika, though," he added.

"We don't get many Laikans," she said conversationally, turning and looking out at the milling crowd of well-dressed people. "In fact, I think there are only two here right now. They're also petitioning for the right to live on Glasgow," she said.

"Really?" he said. "A couple, are they?"

"They are, as a matter of fact," she said, looking up at him. "They should be around somewhere, if you'd like to talk to them."

"Ah'd like that very much," he said cheerfully, and she put her arm through his, leading him out into the area jammed with aliens.

-------------------------------------------------

"Oh dear," Kickick said suddenly, slowing Fergus to a stop but not letting her hands drop. "It seems you've tired me out, Fergus."

"Oh go on, Ah think Ah've stamped on yir feet enough fae one night. Let me get yi a drink, hen," he said warmly, taking her hand and pulling her toward the long trestle table of waiters and wine glasses.

He spoke to the waiter behind, taking two tall glasses of champagne and turning, handing one to her.

She smiled, taking hold of his hand and walking through the press of people and aliens, out to the doors at the side. She pushed one open and slid through, gesturing with her head for him to follow.

He ducked through the door, letting it close softly behind him. He found he was on a balcony, the sounds of the music and talking inside very far away.

He walked to the edge, looking out over the lights of the city, the cold air making his breath steam as he simply stared at the view.

"This is beautiful," he said quietly, then looked over at her, next to him. "Och yi must be freezing, hen," he said suddenly, putting his glass on the stone surround, pulling off his dinner jacket quickly. He put it round her shoulders and she put her hands to it gratefully, pulling it round her more tightly.

"Thank you, you're very kind," she said warmly. She looked out over the view. "It's not Glasgow, though," she said quietly, sadly.

"Yir lookin' tae get tae Glasgow?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course. Aren't you?" she asked.

"Not likely," he scoffed. "Ah was born there – partly grew up there too. Kinda puts yi off thi place, if yi see what Ah mean," he said.

"What? Glasgow?" she asked, confused, and he looked at her.

"Oh! No, not _this_ Glasgow," he said quickly, and she smiled. "No, Ah mean… well, it's a city," he said, "far awae from here, though."

"I can tell," she said. "But you don't want to go back there?"

"Sometimes," he shrugged. "Mostly it reminds me of ma failures."

"Home cities do that to you, don't they?" she asked quietly. She shivered slightly and he dared to slide closer to her, standing slightly behind her to look out over the view.

_Do it,_ she thought hopefully.

_She's gonnae slap me_, he thought nervously, his heart in his mouth, as he put an arm round her waist slowly.

She blew out a silent sigh of relief, leaning back on him comfortably, and he swallowed out of sheer terror.

"Ah could take yi tae Glasgow," he said quietly, hoping she couldn't notice his heart slamming away like Roger Taylor with a new drum kit. "Not yir one, of course. Ah meant ma city."

"I might like that," she said warmly. "It would be very… interesting." She turned under his arm slowly, facing him. "Tell me Fergus, does no-one kiss girls where you're from?"

"Oh aye," he said with a big smile, "Ah'm just hoping yi won't slap me fae being forward."

"I've been waiting for you to be forward for the last hour," she smiled encouragingly.

"Oh well then, in that case," he said brightly.

He kissed her, and suddenly the Universe seemed just a little big bigger.

-------------------------------------------------

"Excuse us," Bronnin said politely, putting a gentle hand on the arm of a spindly, impossibly willowy female.

The woman, a Laikan of surprisingly advanced years, turned and smiled.

"Good evening," she said, her eyes taking in the young female's chocolate skin and chestnut hair slowly. "A Romm," she said with warmth. "I do so like the Romm – so nice," she beamed.

"Thank you," she said, and she noticed the taller woman's gaze shift to the Doctor. He was standing quite patiently behind Bronnin, one hand in his pocket, the other still holding his champagne glass.

"Ah. Forgive me," she said, putting her slender hand out toward him. "It seems I have met every species at this meeting save yours."

"Well Ah huv tae admit, there's a fair few here Ah've never seen before either – and that's saeing something," he said, putting his hand out and shaking hers firmly.

She just looked at their hands, then politely withdrew hers from his, surprised. He put his hand back in his pocket, looking around as he took a sip of his champagne.

"Don't see many Laikans out hir," he offered, as if it were news. She smiled.

"We ourselves have travelled a long way, Mister…?"

"Doctor," Bronnin said helpfully. "Doctor Campbell."

"Oh, a doctor," she said, her smile hesitating for a moment. "And just what field are you in, Doctor Campbell?" she asked.

"Oohh, Ah try tae stae awae from fields, as a rule," he said, as if to himself, his gaze drawn to one side. "_Well_, thir was this time we landed in a field – a really big one, actually – and we had tae–." He stopped, looking back at her and blinking as if he'd only just realised where he was. "Sorry. Wee bit o' jet-lag."

"I'm sure," she said, smiling tightly. "So you never did say where you were from."

"No. Silly me, always forgetting maself," he said with a wide smile. "Which part of Laika are you from, then? Ah've been thir a few times, Ah like thi North Shore of Cataal Nall," he said cheerfully.

"You know Cataal Nall?" she asked, surprised. "Not many people know of it, even on Laika," she smiled. She turned quickly. "This is my husband," she said, pulling the arm of a similarly slender alien round to look at them.

"Evening," he said amiably, noticing the Romm female next to him. His gaze slide from her face and ran over her figure slowly, lazily heading back up again, as if oblivious of the way his eyes appeared to undress her on the spot.

She looked at him and suddenly felt uncomfortable. The Doctor cleared his throat slightly. Bronnin flicked her gaze at the Time Lord, noticed his slightly narrowed eyes focused completely on the man, and looked back at the male Laikan. She didn't like the way_ his_ eyes pinched slightly as he spotted the Gallifreyan.

"Did you say you are a doctor?" he asked politely.

"No. That'll huv been my friend here," he said pleasantly, but suddenly Bronnin got the feeling the two of them were saying far more than their mouths were.

"I see," he said slowly, glancing at his wife for the briefest of moments.

"So you two are trying tae get tae Glasgow as well then?" the Doctor asked slowly.

"We are, as are many people around us," she said.

"So… how did yi get in hir then?" he asked innocently. "Just that, Ah don't think normal petitioners are allowed."

"We are no _normal_ petitioners," he said, bristling slightly.

"No, no. Right," the Doctor said, nodding sympathetically.

"We are on the science team," he continued, somewhat stiffly. "We're here in an advisory capacity."

"Advising? Cannae be anyone important, noe can it?" the Doctor guessed innocently.

"The Premier, if you must know," he said grandly. "The Premier of Krimmanhell. Seems she is having trouble with some equipment, and we have experience in the area."

"Ah'll bet yi do," the Doctor said cheerfully. "But Ah thought she wouldnae let anyone who's no Krimmanhellian touch anything of theirs?"

"Through official channels, perhaps," he said, but suddenly his wife put her hand out on his arm.

"Darling, they're playing our song," she said politely, and he looked at her.

"Oh yes, of course," he allowed, then turned to look at Bronnin. "Well young miss, I wish you all the luck on Glasgow with your application." He smiled, leaning closer to her, and the Doctor noticed his eyes running over her again eagerly.

"Thank you very much," she managed, resisting the temptation to blush.

"Ah'm sure yi wouldnae mind adding yir name tae thi support of her application then, would ye?" the Doctor said suavely, and the wife looked at him.

"We wouldn't mind at all, no," she said. "Romm should be welcome on any world."

"You're too kind," Bronnin said, flushing slightly and the Doctor's large eyes slid round the circle, taking in their proximity and the way the husband shifted more toward Bronnin slowly.

He leaned in suddenly, tipping his finger up away from his tall glass. "What_is_ that song thir playing, then?" he asked politely. "Ah cannae recognise it."

"It's very old," the wife said, looping her arm through her husband's. "Come along, Almass," she said quickly, nodding to them both before pulling him away.

Bronnin watched the Doctor nod to the female Laikan, his eyes following them as they retreated across the room.

"Phew!" Bronnin said immediately. "What a crusty old – old –"

"Pervert?"

"Yes!" she said, irritated. Then she looked at the Doctor, and he at her, and they started to laugh at the absurdity.

"Oh, you," she teased. "Anyway, did that answer any questions?" she asked with a smile.

"Hmm?" he asked, sipping at his champagne before looking back at her.

"You seemed determined to speak to them, and ask about what they were doing here," she said pointedly. "Did you get the information you wanted?"

"Oh… Ah think Ah've checked a few boxes, aye," he allowed, smiling at her. She smiled, and then lifted her glass.

"This is empty," she said pointedly.

"Well we cannae huv that, noe can we?" he said cheerfully, putting his arm out. She put hers through his firmly, and he turned her in the direction of the drinks table.


	9. Chapter 9

NINE

Bronnin stopped the Doctor in front of the drinks table, picking up two large glasses of champagne. She took his half empty one from him and replaced it with the new one.

"Yi seem tae like this stuff," he said pleasantly, watching her down half the glass.

"I'm drowning my sorrows," she said with a grin, as he took a sip slowly.

"What sorrows?" he asked, his face a little confused.

"Put that down and I'll show you," she said, turning and leaving her glass on the table. He took a big mouthful before setting his glass down. She reached her hand out and took his warmly, pulling him back to the dancefloor.

As they swept around she took her hand from his back and put it on his shoulder, watching him.

"Over my head, ten o'clock," she said cheerfully. He flicked his gaze up and his mouth pulled to one side in what would have been a thoughtful frown, had he not caught it in time. "See?"

"Ah see yir sister and Fergus," he said, watching them dance slowly, arms tightly round each other in a manner that suggested they didn't care who else was in the room.

"Don't be mad, please," she said suddenly, and he looked back at her.

"Mad? Why would Ah be mad?" he asked.

"Well… I've never seen my sister this happy – not for such a long time. And your son is very nice. He wouldn't do anything… bad, would he? To her, I mean?" she asked carefully.

He looked over again, already knowing the answer.

"That boy is many things," he said confidently, "but he's no thi type tae intentionally hurt anyone."

"Good," she said, looking slightly relieved, and he looked back at her. "That just leaves you."

"Me?" he prompted.

"You. I should be quite upset, actually," she said cheerfully. "But I can't be, can I?"

"Could yi explain that?" he asked pleasantly.

"Well, I have a confession to make, Doctor Campbell," she said slowly, biting her lip. "Again, I must beg your patience and understanding."

"When yi ask so nicely, it's hard tae refuse," he said with a grin, and she sighed.

"Well… I'm just _not _falling in love with you, Doctor Campbell. I wish I were."

"Oh," he said suddenly, and she was surprised at the shock on his face. He appeared to collect himself quickly enough, though. "Well, it's hardly compulsory, hen."

"I know, but… You're funny, you're very clever, and you're very, very handsome in that suit. But… I don't know, there's just… I really, _really_ like you."

"Well Ah kinda like you, if yi don't mind me saeing," he said cheerfully. "Yi remind me of a friend."

"A good friend?" she dared.

"A very, very good friend," he said warmly, and she smiled. "Would yi no be worried Ah'm so much older than you it'd be positively indecent?" he added with a grin.

"Oh I don't believe you're really that old at all," she said dismissively, then giggled as he just waggled his eyebrows at her, amused. "I want to talk to you forever, discuss all those stupid Time stuff things, find out what you really know about _everything_," she grinned, squeezing her hand on his shoulder.

"Yi really like this Time stuff?" he asked. "Would yi give up dreams of Glasgow tae go look at thi rest of thi Universe?"

She gasped with the idea of it all.

"In a heartbeat!" she said with conviction. "Oh the places I could go!" she said grandly, sliding herself closer to him and leaning on him fondly. "The things I could see! Sunsets on far away moons! And I've read about this place – it's called Meta Sigma Folia – I've always wanted to go there! Sometimes over the coast there's this burst of star fire that's just _so_ beautiful," she gushed.

"It's like oil on water!" the Doctor cried ebulliently, sliding them round the floor with more enthusiasm.

"Oh to see that! Oh to be able to go wherever I wanted, to see so many amazing things," she sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Sometimes it's no all fun, though," he pointed out. "Sometimes… bad things happen tae good people."

"Oh but look at the benefits," she sighed, curling his outstretched hand round hers comfortably, pulling it in to sit between her shoulder and the lapel on his dinner jacket. "So many good things, so few bad points."

"Sometimes the bad points arenae so small," he sighed, and she lifted her face to look at him.

"If you're trying to ask me to go with you, but you're worried about me being disappointed, then don't," she said firmly. "Don't ask me if you don't want me to go."

"Ah didnae sae that." He looked down at her for a long moment.

"Are you… are you asking me?" she dared.

"Ah think Ah am," he admitted ruefully.

"Really?" she whispered.

"Yeah, really," he said seriously, searching her eyes and finding the tiniest, smallest gleam of hope and adventure in there. "Maybe when we've sorted what it is we're doing here, there'd be time fae more fun."

"So then… One day… Would there be room in your ship for four?" she asked, swallowing.

"Oh yes!" he cried with a manic grin, and she laughed out loud.

A gong sounded suddenly and the music faded, to be replaced with the sounds of people chatting and moving back toward the tables.

She looked up at him and pulled herself away, taking his hand and pulling him to the table slowly.

He waited, sliding her chair in for her as she sat, and she giggled as he turned and sat too. She looked up to see her sister and Fergus walking back to the table.

"Like a cat, pal," Fergus observed, and the Doctor looked up.

"Sae whaty who noe?" he asked innocently.

"You, mate. Yi always bugger off, then come home fae food."

"Charming," the Gallifreyan smiled as they sat.

"Are you sure you're his father?" Bronnin asked him suddenly. "You seem too young."

"Who, him?" Fergus said suddenly, chucking a thumb at the Doctor. "He's older on thi inside."

"Cheeky," the Doctor said with a grin.

Waiters started to appear with trays of food, walking around slowly, serving hot and cold delicacies alike.

It was as they were into the second course that a waiter arrived at their table, bowing his head respectfully to the Doctor.

"Oh hullo," he said pleasantly. "Something Ah can be doing fae ye?"

"A message from Professor Marm, sir," he said slowly, his low, monotonous voice conveying his absolute lack of interest in the entire evening.

"Oh right," he said, turning and putting his elbow on the back of the chair. "Well?"

"He asks you attend the demonstration of some scientific equipment tomorrow, sir," he said.

"Oh! Well then, cannae say no tae scientific equipment," the Doctor beamed. The waiter nodded.

"Eleven hundred hours, sir, in the main observation room. It is located on the fourth floor of this building, sir," he said wearily.

"Thank yi very much," he grinned. "Please tell him Ah'd be delighted tae see it."

"I will, sir, thank you. Enjoy your evening, sir," he said, turning and disappearing.

The Doctor turned and looked at Fergus, raising his eyebrows and grinning.

"What was all that aboot?" he asked.

"Ah'll find out tomorrow," he said, slapping his hands together and rubbing them excitedly, and Bronnin laughed.

"Do you want to see it before tomorrow?" she asked slyly, and he looked at her.

"How's that?"

"Well, I might have been talking to Professor Marm's assistant this evening," she said, picking up her glass and sipping coyly. "And perhaps I know where this scientific equipment is, and how to get in to see it."

"You star," he grinned. "Let's go!"

"Hae," Fergus said loudly, "some of us are wanting tae eat here."

"Are yi sure?" the Doctor said tartly. "Ah'm thinking it's no eating yi want tae be doing."

"Yi cheeky bastard!" Fergus gasped, picking up the small unopened tub of butter and tossing it into the Time Lord's chest.

"Child," he remonstrated with a shake of the head, and Fergus sat back slowly, aggression excised. The Doctor looked at Bronnin, winking as he palmed the small pot quickly. He flicked the tub back at the young Scot.

"Och yi puerile Gallifreyan monkey, ye!" he hissed, grabbing a bread roll and chucking it at him.

The Doctor leaned to his right swiftly and it flew past his shoulder, landing on the table behind them.

There was a gasp and chuckle, before Fergus gasped in surprise.

They all turned and looked up to see a corn cob arcing high into the air. It whistled with speed as it began its decent, landing in the middle of their table with a slightly damp thump.

Fergus and the Doctor raised their eyes from the half-mashed corn cob between them and looked at each other. Then they turned and looked at the table of decidedly small, young red Krimmanhellanians sat watching them.

They turned back to their table and snatched up every small piece of vegetable and salad easily lifted.

Within a minute the hall was filled with flying food, tumbling edibles of all kinds shooting up into the air and raining down on tables. The shrieks of children and the baying of adults mostly covered the sounds of tinkling glass and the soft thuds of squishy food items hitting plate and table with ineluctable destruction.

Bronnin put a hand over her mouth, giggling recklessly, before looking at Kickick.

"Oh don't encourage them," she said irritably.

A decidedly wet slice of cured meat slapped into the side of her head noisily. She flinched, peeling it off and taking a deep breath. Then she picked up her plate, simply flinging the entire contents at the kids seated at the next table, and the battle was well and truly joined.

Bronnin laughed out loud at her sister, grinning like an idiot, hurling food at small children and loving it.

Fergus looked over at the Doctor to find him sliding quickly under the table. He ducked his head under the tablecloth.

"What noe?" he hissed.

"An excellent diversion, Mister Campbell!" he chuckled. "Come on then – get the girls, we have a machine to look at!"

Fergus sat straight in his seat again, then tapped Kickick's elbow. She looked at him and he pointed to the exit. Bronnin noticed and slid down in her seat, ending up on her hands and knees under the table. She bumped into something black and drew back quickly.

"Whoops, sorry," the Doctor said, turning right round and grinning at her. "That wae, if yi wouldnae mind."

"Of course," she said, embarrassed at having just barged into his backside, and crawled out from under the table. The Doctor followed, then Fergus and Kickick appeared in a line behind him.

The made it past the trestle table and to the exit door, getting to their feet and barging through quickly.

Bronnin and Kickick were still sealing their mouths closed with their hands against their laughter, as the men stopped and looked back through the window.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor grinned, then rubbed his hands and looked round for the lifts.

"Ah think yous two should go ahead," Fergus said. "Ah should take Kickick hir home."

The Doctor looked at him. "Really? You don't want tae see this?" he asked, surprised. "What could be more important than new machinery?"

"Oh, nothing, Ah'm just dropping her back, then Ah'll come find yous two," he said. "That's if yir going wi' him, hen," he said to Bronnin.

She smiled. "If he's going to look at shiny scientific equipment, then so am I," she beamed.

"That's settled then," the Doctor said happily, and Fergus noticed the very pleased way with which the Time Lord looked at Bronnin.

She winked at him before walking to her sister, hugging her for a long moment. Some very quick exchange made them both giggle suddenly, safely out of earshot of the two men. Then Kickick turned and put her hand out to Fergus, inclining her head at the Doctor.

"Goodnight, Doctor Campbell," she said with a knowing grin, and he lifted a hand, wiggling his fingers at her with a smile.

She turned and Fergus put an arm round her waist, walking her away. Bronnin turned to look at the Doctor.

"Shall we?" she said.

He put his hand out and she took it firmly, pulling him toward the exit.


	10. Chapter 10

TEN

"Oh look, it's locked," Bronnin whispered, tapping the large padlock on the door a few times and pouting.

"Not a problem," the Doctor said, patting his jacket pockets before sliding his hand inside and pulling out his screwdriver. She eyed it as he brought it up to the padlock, snapping it on. The blue light shone and the sound buzzed, and her eyes went wide as the loop on the padlock fell open suddenly.

"That's amazing," she whispered, putting her hand up and taking it from the door handle.

"Relatively," he shrugged, opening the door a crack and looking in. "All clear," he added redundantly, opening the door for her.

She crept in, turning and looking at the light switch before dismissing it as a bad move. She looked around the room, counted the doors on the opposite side, and walked over quietly, her evening dress swishing around her ankles.

The Doctor closed the door silently and followed her as she opened the third door, poking her head in.

"Here it is," she whispered over her shoulder, then opened the door properly.

The Doctor squeezed past her and into the room, turning and snapping on the light. She stepped in and closed the door quickly, to stop the light flooding out.

They looked around the small room, finding no windows or cameras. He looked back at the table in the middle of the room, looking for all the world like a pathology table.

He walked closer, lifting the sheet off a microwave-sized box. He pulled it right off, balling it up and chucking it on the workbench that ran around the room.

He let his hands slide into his dimensionally-challenged pockets as he bent over, scrutinising it.

"What is it?" she asked quietly, watching his wide eyes take in the shape, size, and many many buttons all over it.

"Well," he said slowly, sliding a hand in his inside pocket again, this time pulling out his glasses, "it's no a Time machine."

"Who said it was a Time machine?" she asked, confused.

"Professor Marm," he said mildly, sliding his glasses on and sniffing to himself. He put his hand out and to the casing, undoing two small latches.

"Should you be –"

He pulled the casing open and whistled to himself.

"Well, well, well," he said suddenly, impressed. "Ah think someone hir knoes more about energy than thir letting on," he muttered appreciatively.

"What is it?" she dared.

"Well unless Ah'm very much mistaken, _this_," he said grandly, straightening and pulling his screwdriver from his pocket, "is a Dark Matter machine."

He sniffed, adjusting something on the head of the screwdriver before pointing it at the insides, stuffed with boards and cables, and flicking it on.

"So what are you doing?" she asked.

"Finding out why it's no working," he said. "It should be fine. There's nothing in hir tae interfere with thi power or circuits." He brought the screwdriver back and looked at the blue light. "Except… it's no thi power that's thi problem. It _has_ power," he concluded, then pointed the screwdriver back at the insides of the machine.

"Dark Matter," she said to herself. "That makes up kind of… er… most of the universe, doesn't it? But it can't be seen?"

"That's right," he said, turning his head to grin at her. "It's also immensely power-rich and dangerous. Which is why ma people left it well enough alone, save–."

He stopped himself suddenly, thinking. He brought the screwdriver up and looked at it again, then snapped it off.

"Save what?" she asked. He turned to look at her, an awful look of horror on his face. "What is it? What's the matter?" she demanded fearfully.

"Ah must be wrong," he said slowly, thinking. "Ah _must_ be. There's only one machine."

"Right," she said confidently. "Professor Marm said that they had one, but couldn't make it work."

"Good," he said, then stopped short. "Hold on! If they only huv thi one, then what did those two Laikans steal from hir earlier tonight?"

"The Laikans broke in here?" she gasped, watching him turn back to stare at the machine.

"Aye – maself and Fergus saw thi whole thing," he said, folding his arms suddenly and pouting in thought. "So… The Premiere of Krimmanhell hired those two tae pinch this, because the Premiere and her monkeys huvnae been able tae make it work, but she couldnae simply tell the worlds that… Because… she needs this fae something. So she's asking – paying – the Laikans tae fix it. _Oohh!_ Cos once they've done that, she'll stamp their application and she'll get her machine back, working properly!"

It was silent for a few moments, then Bronnin walked up quietly, staring at the machine.

"But if they didn't steal this, what _did_ they take?" she asked. "They couldn't have taken it tonight, fixed it before the dinner, then brought it back – especially as it's still not working."

"Yir right," he said quietly, looking at her sharply before looking at the machine again. "Are ye _sure_ there's just thi one?" he asked, biting his lip gingerly.

"Positive," she said, nodding. "Well, Professor Marm says there's only one. He was grumbling to his assistant that if he'd just had another to look at, he might have figured out what was wrong with this one."

"Hmm," the Doctor said slowly, his eyes slightly glazed. She waited, then she cleared her throat quietly.

"Um, Doctor Campbell," she said slowly, and he looked at her suddenly. He blinked, sucking in a breath through his nose and shaking his head briskly.

"Yes," he said smartly.

"Well… you said you came here from some place on Bullosarrus Nine," she said.

"Yes."

"So… Look, I don't want to sound forward, or anything, but… I'm assuming you came here in your own long-distance ship," she said gingerly.

"Yes."

"Is there…. Er… Is there any way it'd be possible to take this to your ship? And would it be able to tell us something about it? I'm assuming your ship is stocked to the portholes with scientific equipment," she said teasingly.

"It is, and it would," he said gingerly. "But Ah don't think we should touch this."

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"It's… not right," he said, letting his arms drop and then putting his right hand out on the top slowly. "It's just… It doesnae feel right. Tae me."

She watched him, then let a tiny shiver pass up her spine.

"You know… sometimes… Don't get me wrong, Doctor Campbell, but… You don't seem entirely all here."

"Oh, Ah've been called worse things in ma time," he allowed with a generous smile, turning and finding the sheet. She leaned over and closed up the machine slowly, snapping the latches closed and patting the casing closed with satisfaction.

He brought the sheet over and draped it on top, and she turned and walked to the light, turning it out.

They crept out of the room and across to the main doors, finding the padlock just inside and sneaking out, locking it back up.

She turned and looked at him.

"Well then, Doctor Campbell, I think you should walk me home," she said, taking his elbow. "And explain what you know about Dark Matter machines."

"Ah could do that," he said with an attempt at a smile.

"And why it worries you so much," she said, more seriously. He looked at her.

"Aye, come on then," he allowed grimly, turning and walking them down the corridor quietly.

-------------------------------------------------

"This is yur place?" he asked, looking up at the large house in the tidy garden.

"It is indeed," she said, squeezing her hand over his arm warmly. "Father left us quite a bit of money. And we sold the family home on Romm – just wasn't the same place after he was gone," she said sadly. "Anyway, we're only renting this place while we get our stamps for the new world," she grinned. "Would you like to come inside? It's very bad manners to just expect you to walk home yourself. Oh. Where _is_ your ship berthed?"

"Oh. Actually, it's a long shuttle ride off thi surface–"

"Then you must accept my hospitality," she beamed. "Not every weary traveller finds himself in such a situation."

"Who said Ah was weary?" he grinned, letting her guide him up the path to the front door.

"No-one had to tell me. You just seem… as if you've seen this all before. Somewhere, sometime," she said quietly.

He looked at his feet as they stopped at her door.

"Look, I don't want to pry, but… well, your Fergus does really like my sister, and she's all I've got," she said seriously, pulling out her keys.

"Aye, Ah knoe," he allowed, and she pushed the keys in the door before looking at him. He let his smile fade slowly, turning to find her looking at him. "Sometimes Ah think… he's all Ah've got, really."

"Oh Doctor Campbell," she said sadly, putting a hand out on his elbow. "But he's such a nice young man. You've done really well to bring him up."

"Yi huv no idea," he grinned, and she smiled, pulling on his arm.

"Come on then, come in and get warm," she said kindly, pulling him in the front door after her. "And then when my sister deigns to return tonight, we can all relax."

They walked in and she went straight to the kitchen. He strolled into what appeared to be a front room, with comfy chairs and a sofa arrangement.

"It doesn't matter how far you get from Earth, every girl's front room looks the same," he muttered under his breath, wandering around idly, his eyes sweeping over the small knick-knacks and personal effects. He picked up a small snowglobe, grinning and shaking it as he heard her tinkering in the kitchen.

"Tea?" she called.

He looked over in the direction of her voice, grinning.

"Thir's no finer question," he said, wandering toward the voice. "So long as yi've proper milk."

He helped her make the tea, and they argued over quantum packets and refractions. Then she helped him finish off the small packet of chocolate biscuits she _had_ been meaning to save for a rainy day. As they discussed planetary movements and compared ideas on star fields and gravitational loops, that day seemed very, very far off.


	11. Chapter 11

ELEVEN

The Doctor opened his eyes and blinked the sleep from them, putting his elbows under him. He looked around, yawning.

He remembered he was in a spare bedroom belonging to a pair of alien sisters, one of which had not returned after an evening out on the tiles with Fergus.

"Humans," he yawned, pulling back the warm covers and padding over to the dinner suit he had bought the evening before.

He had pulled on the shirt and trousers and was just picking up the tie when suddenly there was a knock at the heavy metal bedroom door.

"Morning, Doctor Campbell," Bronnin's voice trilled. "Breakfast is cooking, and there's tea in the pot."

"Thank yi very much," he grinned.

He stuffed the tie in his trouser pocket, before finding the en-suite bathroom and availing himself of every convenience he could find. The one thing he could not find, about which he was unsurprised considering only two girls lived in the small house, was any kind of razor or shaving implement.

He shrugged and decided it wouldn't actually hurt anyone anyway. Then he walked out, picked up the jacket by the collar, and let himself out of the room.

He paused in the hallway with his hand still on the door knob, finding Kickick staring back at him, surprised. She pushed her long brown hair behind her ear and smiled nervously.

"Morning, Doctor Campbell," she managed.

He opened his mouth to reply but she turned quickly, dashing back to the heavy metal door of her bedroom. It was quite a way down the top landing, and it was then that he realised she had been wearing Fergus's dress shirt from the night before.

And nothing else.

He shook his head dismissively and walked down the landing to the stairs, skipping down them to find himself in the doorway of the kitchen almost.

"There you are, good morning," Bronnin said warmly, walking over and handing him a mug of tea.

"Oh well, ta very much," he said with a grin. "Ah see yir sister came back last night after all, then."

"Yes. She did," Bronnin said, annoyed. The Doctor just sniffed, deciding to let it go, as they heard thumping and laughing from the upstairs floor.

Bronnin huffed and crossed to the drainer, picking up small forks and opening a drawer quickly. She began putting them away, as the occasional thump interrupted the laughing from above them.

The Doctor simply sipped his tea, watching her stash the forks away and slam the drawer shut loudly. She picked up the tea towel and began drying off a breakfast bowl, going to the cupboard and putting it inside firmly, slamming the door shut behind her.

She realised she was being watched and turned to look at the Doctor. His mouth simply twisted up to one side, his eyes apologetic, and she let her shoulders sag abruptly.

She wiped her face with a warm hand, her annoyed expression melting into one of resignation.

"I'm sorry," she said wearily, looking at him. "I don't mean to be annoyed, it's just… I'm _glad_ she's happy, I really am. I just…"

"Yir just waiting fae yur turn?" he asked quietly.

Her face weakened suddenly, and the Doctor sensed tears on the horizon.

"Oh look, Ah'm sorry, Ah didnae mean tae –"

"It's not you," she said suddenly, walking over to put the tea towel back on the rack. He put his tea down and then put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

She bit her lip and turned into him, putting her arms round him.

"Oohh, come on noe," he said kindly, hugging her back firmly. "When yi get tae Glasgow, there'll be hundreds o' men dying tae meet you," he assured her, rubbing her back.

"Not me. Always my older, beautiful sister," she whispered.

"Hey noe," he said sharply, pulling her back to look down at her, in the eye. "Ah'm no saeing there'll no be pretty girls there, but Ah_am_ saeing you've more intelligence and character than every one o' them."

She smiled, staring at him.

"You're very kind."

"No, Ah'm honest," he said seriously, and she shook her head, grinning. She pulled him into another warm hug, closing her eyes and clearing her mind of all the upset smartly.

Then she leaned back to look up at him, patting his shirt before turning back to the kitchen counter.

"Well then. As you're the only one who ever sees me for me and doesn't care that I know about science stuff, I shall have to make you something to eat before you see Professor Marm demonstrate his equipment this morning," she said.

"Then I'll have tae accept," he said warmly.

-------------------------------------------------

"So what am Ah doing?" Fergus asked as the Doctor pulled his dinner jacket back on.

"You're going to follow me back to the Hearing Hall building. I'm going up to the fourth floor to watch some demonstration of some Dark Matter machine that doesn't even work, and you're going to do the important stuff."

"Like what?" he asked, casting an eye at the bedroom door quickly, lest they be heard.

"You have to find whatever machine those two Laikans stole from the bank vault," he said clearly, stopping to look at him.

"But Bronnin says yi found it."

"No, we found the dummy machine left in its place," he corrected quickly. "They're just covering to make sure, if anyone _does_ look in, that there's a machine to see."

"So what are yi watching then?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

"We're hopefully watching the machine that those two Laikans are supposed to have fixed and brought back," he said. "As long as it works, we're fine."

"So… what am Ah looking for again?" he asked, just staring at the Doctor.

"You're looking for an identical machine," he said. "Take Bronnin with you, she knows what it looks like."

"Er, can Ah admit Ah'v no clue what's going on here?" he asked.

"It's very simple, Mister Campbell," he said grimly. "The Premier of Krimmanhell needed someone to fix her Dark Matter machine because Professor Marm and his team couldn't get it going. If I'm right, she needs it to fuel the huge energy deficit the fifteen planets are experiencing right now. Then she can pretty much name her price when they all try to buy power from Krimmanhell."

"Right."

"But Marm couldn't make it work, so she's back-handing a pair of Laikans to 'steal' it and complete the machine, making it work, on the quiet. I don't think even Marm knows they're on the case. Anyway, hoping they've finished it and returned it by now, the Premier has already organised a press conference thing to show it off and basically advertise energy to the other fourteen planets. With me so far?" he asked.

"Aye. Skip tae the bit aboot another machine," he said quickly.

"Right. I want you to find the second machine and the moment you do, come and find me," he said seriously.

"Why?"

"Because I'm hoping it's the dummy."

"But… yir thinking perhaps it's not," Fergus said darkly.

"Exactly."

"But if it's no a dummy, and if thirs another that's not a dummy… what will that mean?" he asked, lost.

The Doctor turned and looked at him with large, omnipotent eyes, and Fergus resisted the urge to step back in creeping fear.

"Then this – all of this – is a lie," he said simply.

He didn't look at Fergus as he walked past him and out of the bedroom door.

The young Scot swallowed, then turned for the door too. He had a dummy to find.

-------------------------------------------------

The Premier handed the Doctor a pair of black goggles.

"You'll need these," she said grudgingly.

"Oh, thanks very much," he said cheerfully, but she simply frowned and turned away to get her own pair.

The Doctor pulled on the goggles, adjusting them over his eyes, as scientists fiddled with the machine on the stage on front of them.

"Silence please, for set-up," a scientist called out, and everyone turned to watch.

Everyone held their breath. The silent seconds ticked away.

Suddenly, a muffled tune started playing.

Heads twitched, eyes darted about, people shuffled their feet uncomfortably. The tune carried on, becoming steadily louder, and the Doctor began humming along to '_Vader's March_' from '_Star Wars_'.

"Doctor Campbell," the Premier said irritably, and he realised it was he who was humming. He stopped quickly, clearing his throat. He looked at her, confused, as she waved a finger at him. The music stopped suddenly. She tutted and pointed at his jacket more obviously as it started up again immediately.

He jumped, realisation dawning, patting at the pockets in his jacket. He thrust both hands into his curiously non-transcendental pockets in his tuxedo trousers and pulled out Martha Jones's old phone, flipping it open to stop the tune now blaring out uncomfortably loudly.

He put it to his ear gingerly.

"Hello?" he offered.

"Skipper! Thank God – we found it!" Fergus's voice shouted down the line. "We found thi second machine!"

"Where?" he demanded urgently. He caught the annoyed looks from the scientists and audience alike, and covered the receiver on the handset. He apologised profusely as he pushed his way to the back of the room.

"In thi same room that you and Bronnin found thi other one," he said quickly. "What do we do noe?"

"You open the catches on the side, hurry," his hissed, stepping back further from the audience and ripping the goggles from his eyes.

"Right, she's open," Fergus said.

"Are there lights on?" he demanded.

"Aye, there are… four red lights, at thi top. Then… there are two wee green ones, Skipper. They look like… they're kinda beating out a tune," he added, confused.

The Doctor's face drained of colour and he closed his eyes slowly, lifting his free hand to massage his forehead firmly.

"Skipper?" he asked. "This isnae thi dummy then?"

"No," he said sadly, and Fergus was surprised by the weariness in his tone. "No, it's a real one. And it's working."

"So… thi one yi have thir – _that's_ the dummy?" he guessed.

The Doctor's eyes widened suddenly as a million answers and reasons flooded through his head faster than a Eurostar behind schedule. He turned quickly to look back at the machine on the stage, the alien males scrambling round it madly, making last minute checks and adjustments.

"Oh no," he muttered, appalled. "No no no no no no no…." he said quickly, eyeing the way the machine was not yet operating.

"Skipper? Skipper! What do we do wi this one?" Fergus asked nervously. "Dae yi want it shut down?"

"No!" the Doctor cried urgently. "Don't go near it, don't touch it! Don't even look at it wrong!"

"Alright, alright, keep ya hair on," Fergus tutted at him. "Where's thi other one then?"

"It's here – they're about to try and turn it on."

"But that's good, no? Then we can find out which one –"

"No!" the Doctor snapped. "It is _not_ good! It's the opposite of wise and a complete chapter on 'How To Destroy A Universe By Accident'!"

"Woah woah woah – yu've lost me n–" Fergus protested.

"Just listen carefully!" the Doctor interrupted quickly. "Don't touch that thing – leave it where it is. Get back to the shuttles, get us tickets back to the perimeter defence station – we need a look at the machine properly, and we're going to need the TARDIS to do it."

"But Skipper, what about stopping thi other–"

"Mister Campbell!"

"Aye-aye," he said smartly, and the Doctor snapped the phone shut.

He bit his lip, weighing up the faces in the room, wondering desperately how to stop the process without anyone finding out why.


	12. Chapter 12

TWELVE

The Doctor walked over, pulling the screwdriver from his breast pocket and pushing it into his trousers smoothly. He walked up swiftly to the side of the audience, apologising and squeezing up to try to get closer to the stage and the machine.

"Doctor, get back from there," the Premier said wearily.

"Oh aye, sorry," he said quickly, turning again to squeeze back out.

Suddenly he tripped and flailed, his arms pushing into several people as he landed out flat on the floor. There was a strange buzzing sound, mostly drowned out by a female squealing in surprise.

"Oh! Dear me! You poor man!" she cried, bending to help him up.

"Much obliged," he said, confused, then looked down. "Oh, would yi look at this," he said, crouching down over a cable on the floor. "Is this important?" he asked innocently, lifting it.

Machines suddenly pinged and whirred, great klaxons blaring from the stage. Everyone gasped, herding closer together for safety.

"You there! What did you do!" one scientist shouted in his direction.

The Doctor simply stood and looked at him, still holding the cable and now hearing the sound of power failing and large machinery shutting down.

"Oh, er, well, Ah just tripped," he said innocently. The scientist and Premier shared a long look then stared at the Time Lord, but his face was inscrutable.

"Professor – power reserves are bleeding off!" a scientist said quickly, and he turned to help him urgently.

The Doctor looked over the cable thoughtfully before letting it drop, straightening and wiping his hand on the pristine lapel of his black dinner jacket delicately.

"Well?" the Premier called over to the Professor.

"Power has been lost. We cannot make it work again until we have sufficient power," he said stonily.

All faces turned to stare at the Doctor. He simply gazed back at them all, a slight, hopeful smile on his face.

"Oh! Was that _me_?" he said suddenly, then clapped a hand to his forehead. "Nooooo! You mean Ah did that? Ah fell on that – that_thing_ and it all – went wrong?" he hazarded, looking round at them. "Nooooo! Ah'm so sorry!" he cried, mortified. Half the audience bit their lips in sympathy and stopped staring. The other half thought about turning the 'harsh' setting down quite a bit. "So we cannae watch it work noe? No! There must be something yi can do!" he protested, moving as if to walk over.

The Premier stepped up quickly, blocking his way.

"You've done enough already," she seethed, and he stepped back one hastily, alarmed. "I think you should go and find your wayward son, Doctor, and leave this to us. You clearly have no idea of the gravity of the situation."

"Gravity, eh?" he muttered, great wheels turning behind his large, worried eyes. "Definitely one o' ma favourite teas."

"Go!"

"Er – yes, quite," he said quickly, raising his hands and backing away swiftly. His face was the model of apology as he turned and pushed the large doors open behind him, barrelling through and letting them close.

He turned and sprinted down the corridor.

He ran as fast as he could round to the lifts, pulling out the phone and pressing the number of the last received call. It rang and clicked just as he stepped into the empty lift, pressing the concourse button repeatedly.

"Mister Campbell, where are you? Got the tickets?" he demanded quickly.

"Aye! Did yi stop thi demonstration?"

"Yes, no problem," he said quickly.

"Easy job then, we've still twenty minutes yet, Skipper," he said, relaxing audibly.

"Not good – I've got to get that machine first," he said, looking up at the floor numbers whizzing past.

"What? Ah thought yi said no tae touch–"

"I couldn't risk it, Mister Campbell. Believe me, I want to carry it like I want a hole in the head," he said grimly. "But needs must. I won't be long, it shouldn't be under guard."

"But it's in the bank vault!" he protested. "That's miles away!"

"I can do it. I'm not far away now," he bluffed.

"Skipper, yir still in that admin. building, are yi not?" he said knowingly. The Doctor tutted.

"Alright yes," he said irritably. "But I can make it."

"What if yi don't?"

"Then get the shuttle, I'll get the next one," he said, exasperation raising his tone.

"But when they find out yi've nicked their machine, they'll come looking fae yi! Hoe are yi gonnae disappear while waiting fae thi shuttle, man?" he cried angrily.

"Look, stop worrying like a girl and get to the shuttles!"

"Yes_Dad_," he stressed, huffing. "Whir are yi noe?"

"I'm in the lift in the admin. building."

"Yir in a lift, and yir phone's still working?" Fergus said, baffled.

The Doctor pulled the handset away from his face, stared at the receiver with complete and utter amazement for a long second, then put it back to his ear.

"Mister Campbell, you accepted the fact that our two phones work over the enormities of time and space, and yet you're staggered that they work _in a lift_?"

"Yeah," he said deliberately clearly.

"_Any_way," he said loudly, shaking his head dismissively, "you didn't let anyone see you leave that room, did you?"

"Er… no really," came Fergus's edgy reply.

"What is it?" he asked warily.

"Well, thir _was_ a security guard… or two," he said nervously.

"And?" the Doctor dared.

"Ah had tae kinda … well, he was following us!" he said defensively.

"Tell me you didn't headbutt him and make a run for it?" he asked resignedly, wiping his face over with his free hand.

"Aw bollocks man, yi knoe me too well," he tutted. "And… well, Bronnin's hir, she knoes what Ah knoe."

"Then she'll have to come with us. And Kickick?"

"Er… yeah, her too," he admitted.

The Doctor closed his eyes, shook his head, and then opened them again as the lift pinged and came to a stop.

"Humans," he breathed.

"And Romm," Fergus said dryly.

"Right then. Looks like we're all in this together, doesn't it?" The lift doors opened and he stepped out.

"Tae thi TAR– ship?" he asked, surprised. "You sure?"

"Yes, Mister Campbell. If they both know what we both know, they're not going to be safe on any one of the fifteen planets of the Krimmanhellanian Dominion of Solidarity and Unity."

"But…"

"Just do it, Mister Campbell," he said, closing the phone and looking round for the exit.

He spotted the door across the lobby and walked as fast as he could without attracting attention to himself. He passed through the people milling about easily, pushing out of the huge glass front door and finding himself in the cold morning street.

He looked to his left, spotted a taxi, and ran for it.

-------------------------------------------------

Fergus ushered the two girls toward the shuttle slowly, forever looking over his shoulder at the large clock, then back at the entrance doors.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Bronnin asked quickly.

"No. Ah don't," Fergus said with conviction. He turned and looked at them. "Right. Change o' plans, girls," he said quickly. He pulled off his dinner jacket and handed it to Kickick. "Put that on. Yous two get on thi shuttle, and when you get off at thi other end, take thi lift up tae thi twenty-first floor. Get oot and wait fae us thir," he said smartly.

"Where are you going?"

"To make sure he's alright. Ah won't be long – we'll just get thi next shuttle."

"But that's in forty minutes," Bronnin pointed out flatly. "Can you make it?"

"We will, hen," he said confidently. "Ah've just got this really bad feeling he's gonnae need ma help, whether he likes it or no."

"Then… be careful," Kickick said urgently, stepping forward and squeezing his arm, kissing the side of his head firmly. "Please."

"Ah'll try," he said, nodding to Bronnin and turning in the direction of the entrance doors. The two sisters watched him hurry back.

It was silent for barely a second.

"Are we seriously leaving him to it?" Bronnin asked indignantly. Her sister turned and looked at her.

"You heard him. It sounds really dangerous. We should just leave, do as he tells us, and wait," she said sensibly.

"He's going to need more help than just Fergus," she scoffed.

"Bron! Fergus will do whatever it takes," she snapped, offended.

"I didn't mean he couldn't –. Look, I just think we should follow and make sure they're alright," she said, trying to remain calm.

"No. He said to wait here, and that's what we're going to do," she reiterated.

Both sisters blew out a long huff, then there was silence.

"Kee?" she prompted.

"No!" she cried, frustrated. "Really! Just this once, we _are_ going to do as told!" she said firmly.

"Fine. But if anything happens to them or that strange machine, I won't be able to forgive myself," she said with unexpected firmness.

"You think something will?" she dared.

"I… don't know."

"Come on. Let's get on the shuttle. It leaves in ten minutes."


	13. Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

The doors on the lift opened to reveal the vault room, and the bars over the vault door itself.

And three armed guards, charging weapons and turning all of their attention on the occupant of the lift.

"Oh! Hello," he said cheerfully. He raised his hands slowly, wandering out of the lift cautiously.

"What are you doing here?" the nearest guard demanded. Another Krimmanhellanian, short, squat and red, he watched the Doctor through the wide slit in his riot helmet.

"Me? Oh, I'm lost, actually," he said. "Er… what are you lot doing here?"

"Making sure lost people find their way again. Elsewhere," he said firmly.

"Oh good," he said through his teeth, trying to stay polite. He let his gaze take in the room slowly. "Er, what's that?" he asked, gesturing to the bars with his head.

"Nothing that concerns you. You're not supposed to be down here. This is the People's Bank of Krimmanhell, it's after banking hours, and you're in the wrong room. Get back in the lift," he said sharply.

"What, now? But I've just arrived," he said plaintively. "I was looking for Withdrawals," he said politely.

"Get back in the lift," he repeated, and the Doctor looked over as he heard the guard to his far left charge his weapon swiftly.

"Alright, alright," he allowed calmly, waving his hands slightly. "I'm going."

He walked backwards slowly, his hands still raised, until he reached the lift doors. He put a hand behind him to press the button, but the lift didn't open.

"Oh," he said feebly, twisting to look up and behind him at the floor indicator. "It's gone up."

"Then you stand there until it comes back down," the guard said.

"Right, yes, of course," he said positively. He sniffed, watching the guards, then the bars, then the lift doors.

The number on the indicator began to fall again, and the Doctor stepped forwards. The guards raised their weapons and trained them on his head and chest.

"Well I can't stand in the door as it's opening, can I?" he said reasonably.

They lowered the weapons slightly as the lift shot down.

"Fourteen," the Doctor said helpfully, glancing at the display. "Twelve. It's fast, isn't it? Very fast. Ten. You know, I've seen some fast lifts in my time, but this one's fantastic," he said matter-of-factly. "Eight." He smiled, looking at the ceiling. "There was this one lift, on Gerimin Five, I think, that literally went _sideways_, too! Great big thing, it was – five – and it just knocked spots off a Lamborghini, I can tell you. I was nearly sick – me! Stand me in a TARDIS and tip it, and I'm fine. _Well_, kinda. But put me in a Gerimin lift changing tracks in the corner of the building and it's a carrot-fest. Two."

"Shut up!" the guard snapped.

"Not a lift fan, are you?" the Doctor said cheerfully. "One."

The lift pinged. The doors opened.

The Doctor turned and grabbed the sole occupant. The guards started to fire. He dragged his charge to the floor. He pulled him round to find it was Fergus.

"What are you doing here?" he snapped as they legged it behind the filing cabinets. Charges ricocheted off the metal cabinets.

"Ah'm looking oot fae _you_!" Fergus shot back.

The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and flicked it on. He gave it a second before simply threw it over the filing cabinets.

The lights blinked off. Every single one.

The shooting stopped. Everything went silent. The Doctor felt Fergus's hand on his shoulder, and grabbed at him to stop.

But he let go and all the Time Lord could hear was the sound of men breathing as quietly as they could. There was the smell of energy discharge, of warm metal, and uniforms made from some kind of plastic material.

He moved to his right slowly, feeling his way in the pitch toward the edge of the filing cabinet.

There was a muffled thump and a cry. Then another thump. Something large scuffled and grunted. Then nothing.

The Doctor got to his hands and knees. He crawled out from behind the cabinets, making for the place he hoped his screwdriver would be lying.

His hand brushed something and he froze. But there was no movement, no sound. He put his hand out, feeling along the shape and finding a smooth riot helmet under his fingers.

He frowned, moving on.

Suddenly there was another thump and a smothered sound. He heard a sound like a ball on willow and froze. Someone cried out, and then he heard them smack into the floor.

"Right," Fergus called out, breathing hard. "Yi can turn thi lights on noe, Skipper."

"Mister Campbell," he began reproachfully. Then he just shook his head and carried on feeling round for his screwdriver.

"Ah've got something," Fergus said suddenly, and the Doctor got to his feet quickly. "Whir are yi?"

"I'm here," he said, "follow my voice. No, tell you what, turn it on."

"Good thinking, Batman," he said, amused, and flicked on the screwdriver. There were sparks from something on their right, but it didn't matter. The dim blue glow had revealed the Doctor's whereabouts.

Fergus walked over confidently and handed him back his screwdriver.

"Good lad," he said. "I think."

He flicked off the instrument and Fergus heard a slight clanking sound. Then the familiar buzzing accompanied the blue light, and the overheard lights quickly flashed on again.

They stood, blinking in the harsh light, as the Doctor turned off the sonic device and pocketed it.

"Right. Let's get those bars open," he said, looking over the guards quickly. "One of this lot must have a key. Find it."

"Aye-aye," Fergus said grimly. "Wir gonnae miss thi shuttle, so Ah've telt the girls tae get on anywae. We can get thi next one."

"Good thinking," he said. "They shouldn't be hanging around here with all this going on."

"Aye," he said darkly, leaning over the guard nearest him and rifling through the many chains on his pockets. "Is this it?" he asked, straightening and handing him the key.

"Looks good," he said, taking it from him hurriedly and running to the bars.

Fergus walked up behind him, watching him slot it in and turn it quickly.

"Ha! Gotcha!" the Doctor cried victoriously, yanking the bars open.

"Noe it's just thi bloody vault," he observed.

"Not a problem," he grinned, pulling out his screwdriver. He worked it on the vault door, and they heard the sound of large tumblers scraping about and moving within.

"That's magic!" Fergus grinned.

He stood to one side as the Doctor snapped off the instrument and pocketed it swiftly, putting his hands to the large wheel. He turned it, hissing through his teeth at the weight, before swinging the door open.

"Right, now," he said seriously, looking at Fergus. "Do not touch a single button, Mister Campbell. Not one," he added darkly.

"Right," he nodded.

"I mean it!"

"Right!" he said, surprised. "C'moan Skipper, yi knoe Ah don't plae wi things when yi tell me not tae," he said, sounding just the least bit hurt.

"This is important," he said, by way of apology, as he turned and looked at the machine sat on the small desk inside the vault.

He stepped in and picked it up gingerly, holding the edges and peering at it.

"Even the casing is wrong," he said, shivering involuntarily. Fergus eyed him as he stepped over the lip to get out again.

"Then let's get oot of hir before these lads wake up," he said quickly, dashing to the lift.

The doors opened immediately and he hurried in, watching the Doctor walk carefully round the men, holding the top handle on the casing and using his other hand to take the weight nervously.

"I really don't like this," he said through gritted teeth as he joined him in the lift. "Right then Mister Campbell, let's get to that shuttle. How long have we got?"

"Fifteen minutes," he said grimly. "We can do it."

"We'd better," the Doctor remarked as the lift doors closed and it swept upward. "I don't want to be there when those men wake up and communicate what's happened here."

"Me neither," he said, looking curiously at the machine.

"Nice work, by the way," the Doctor said mildly. Fergus looked at him, surprised, but he was looking at the ceiling. "Where's your jacket?"

"Gave it to Kee," he said apologetically. The Doctor looked at him blankly. "Kickick," he said helpfully.

"You're such a gent," he observed, with a wry half-smile.

"Yu've never given yir jacket to a lassie?" he asked defensively.

"More times than I care to remember," he said cheerfully. "But that means you'll have to hold this while I take off _my_ jacket. Can't have us wandering through the shuttle lounge carrying Krimmanhell's most prized possession, can we?"

Fergus took the handle and supported it carefully underneath, sharing the Gallifreyan's paranoia that it would somehow break free of its very secure handle and crash to the floor.

The Doctor yanked his jacket off quickly, turning and wrapping it carefully round the metal casing. He lifted it from Fergus gingerly, tucking it under his arm.

"Ah huv tae sae, Ah don't find it so strange," he ventured.

"It's… wrong," he said, avoiding his gaze. "Just trust me."

"Yeah, alright," he said, shrugging.

-------------------------------------------------

Bronnin and Kickick left the docked shuttle and found themselves on a perimeter station. They reached the fourth floor and found it deserted. Kickick shrugged into Fergus's jacket against the cold, wishing she'd worn sleeves like her sister.

Bronnin began to walk away from the lift slowly.

"Bron!" she hissed, and her sister stopped to look at her. "He said to wait!"

"And he also said he'd be on the next shuttle," she said. "It gets in in ten minutes. You stay here, if you want, I'm going to see if I can find their ship."

"Bron!" she called urgently.

But her sister walked on slowly, and Kickick was left staring at the lift.

"Oh alright," she tutted, walking after her. "Wait for me, then!"


	14. Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

The lift pinged and came to a stop, and they walked out slowly, looking for guards. There were none.

The Doctor nodded to Fergus and he hurried to the ticket desk, buying a pair and carrying on toward the shuttle entrance. The Doctor was already there, walking calmly but obviously unhappy about his cargo.

They stepped through the entrance, making it to the shuttle and finding seats at the front. The Doctor put down the machine and slid it under the seat quickly.

"This is gonnae feel like thi longest ride in history," Fergus observed quietly from beside him.

"Isn't it just," the Doctor said, nudging his elbow and gesturing with his head.

Fergus looked over.

And saw the four armed guards sitting on the right hand side of the shuttle seating area, straining to see out of their tiny port-hole window.

"Bloody hell," he breathed, looking back at the Doctor.

"I was thinking more along the lines of '_typical_', but that'll do it," he said grimly.

They settled back into their seats, looked resolutely at the small television screen running through escape pod procedures, and hoped for the best.

-------------------------------------------------

The shuttle docked and the usual announcements and noises went off. Fergus stood slowly, watching the guards surreptitiously as they eyed up all the passengers.

"Wait for them to leave first," the Doctor said quietly, making no effort to retrieve the machine from under his seat.

"Aye," Fergus agreed, patting his pockets and looking about him. The Doctor appeared to help him search the seat and the sides, mindful of the watchful eyes of the guards.

One by one they ambled off the shuttle, casting long glances over their shoulders at the two men, still apparently hunting for something down the side of Fergus's seat.

At last they disappeared, and the Doctor wasted no time crouching and pulling out the machine slowly, checking all the seals on the casing before lifting it. He draped his dinner jacket back over it and nodded to Fergus.

He went first, walking off the shuttle and smiling brightly at the female at the door, stepping out and walking calmly from the exit.

The Doctor followed him, as if he had all the time in all the worlds, trying not to make the bundle obvious. He let his hand sink a little, his jacket covering all of the machine and his arm, and suddenly the machine looked like a bulky work case.

They negotiated their way through the crowds of passengers carefully, the Doctor with the machine by the handle and the underside again.

"Lifts," he said to the young Scot, and he looked around quickly. He located the lifts to the rest of the station and gestured with his head. They forced themselves to walk slowly to the large square marked as the entrance area. Fergus pressed the button and held it in firmly. He put his other hand in his pocket, looking round innocently.

The Doctor waited impatiently, casting furtive looks round the immediate vicinity. He noticed the guards clustering by the information desk, and looked back at Fergus.

"This is going to be tight," he said quickly, and Fergus nodded once. "As long as they don't get the same lift, we might be alright." He paused, his gaze circling the entire platform but only taking in the guards' movements. "Once we get to the fourth floor, we run for the TARDIS. I've got a funny feeling we're being followed," he allowed.

"Right yi are," he said.

"The machine is what counts, Mister Campbell. Don't stop to annoy any guards. Just get this thing back to the TARDIS. Agreed?" he asked seriously.

"Aye-aye." He met the Time Lord's eyes, then let his head tilt slightly. "What dae yi think it is, then?"

"Oh, I know exactly what it _is_, Mister Campbell," he said grimly. "I just don't yet know why it's on and running."

"Doesnae soond good," he confirmed. He looked up at the doors as the lift pinged.

"Here we go. Pretend you haven't seen them," the Doctor said, stepping into the lift. Fergus simply followed, oblivious, as he leaned and pressed the floor button.

As the doors came closed, he spotted the guards running for the second lift.

"Shit, bollocks and bloody hell," he snapped. Their lift whisked upwards, and the two men looked at each other.

"We've got anything up to a minute on them," the Doctor said. "Get your key ready."

"Aw shit!" he cried suddenly, slapping his head.

"What now?" the Doctor protested. "This is not a good time to tell me you've forgotten your key!"

"No – it's in ma jacket! Kee has it!"

"How ironic," the Doctor sighed, "Kee has the key." He rolled his eyes. "Well I've got mine, get it," he commanded.

Fergus didn't even bother to protest. He simply put his hand in the Doctor's pocket, pulling out the long chain with the key on the end.

"Right. Here we are. Get ready to run," the Doctor instructed. Fergus palmed the key, wrapping the chain round his hand securely.

They turned and looked at the lift doors. They pinged and slid open quickly.

"Go!" the Doctor nodded.

They stepped out and began to run. Fergus pulled in front easily, having no machine to carry.

He looked back as he heard the other lift opening.

"Fergus?" came a female voice from behind him. He turned to see where he was going.

He collided with something. It sent him and whatever it was reeling to the floor.

"Ow!" Bronnin shouted. "Why don't you – gah!_ No_!" she gasped suddenly.

Fergus rolled to his knees and got to his feet, looking back.

There was only one guard, the lone man who had stepped out of the lift. He raised a charged weapon at the Doctor as he pounded awkwardly down the corridor toward them.

"Move!" the Gallifreyan shouted desperately.

But Fergus pushed Bronnin over harshly. He allowed the Doctor to run past him. The Time Lord turned as he heard the flash of an energy weapon.

"What are you–"

He felt the words stop in his throat.

He saw the shot as if in slow motion. He knew what would happen. But, as always, his brain moved so much faster than the rest of him.

So he had time to wonder what his next regeneration would be like. He hoped idly he wouldn't need his glasses, although he had come to rather like them. He had a split-second to wonder if he would have better skin, shorter hair, be ginger even.

Before the shot hit home.

He staggered with the shot, feeling his hands tighten on the machine. He heard Bronnin scream, saw the guard coming towards them. He was already recharging the weapon, readying to fire again.

Bronnin scrambled to her feet as the Doctor's legs gave out. He sat heavily on his behind on the dusty station floor. He was still clutching the machine.

Bronnin snatched up a metal spade from the jumble of parts at her side. She lifted it as the guard approached, just laughing at her vain attempt to defend herself.

_It doesn't even hurt_, the Doctor realised, letting go of the machine to look at his hands. _Why doesn't it hu–_

Bronnin slammed the spade round into the guard's head.

He stopped laughing. He fell, unconscious.

She gasped out a breath and dropped the spade quickly. She turned and put a hand over her mouth, choking back tears and looking at the Doctor.

_Oh. That's why it doesn't hurt_, he realised, looking over at Fergus.

Fergus Campbell.

Brave, noble, foolish Fergus Campbell.

Lying in his own blood.

* * *

END OF PART ONE. 


End file.
